SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s prime minister and the entire Cabinet offered their resignations to President Lee Myung-bak following widespread protests over the planned resumption of U.S. beef imports. The government agreed in April to lift almost all restrictions imposed on imports of U.S. beef over fears of mad cow disease.
The decision sparked weeks of protests demanding the government scrap or renegotiate the beef deal amid the perception that it was not doing enough to protect citizens. “President Lee hasn’t listened to the voices of his people. We still don’t have a genuine democracy in our country,” said Jang Dae-hyun, a spokesman for a civic group that has organized protests. More
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June 11th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Pull All U.S. Military out of South Korea and sen all the Korean Cars home to Korea!
June 11th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Thanks for your comment, Al. Does this mean you oppose the beef strike?
June 13th, 2008 at 6:57 am
1. Koreans are concern about the beef import from US. In the recent deal, US could export certain parts of the animal that are banned in the US even for pet food. Would you eat anything that is not even safe for dog? That is what the most Koreans are worried about. Koreans do not hate Americans. They are angry with their President who is responsible for the deal. After all, do we really want export something that we would not feed our dog for human consumption? I do not think so.
June 16th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I agree with the Koreans and applaud their courage for protesting.
June 17th, 2008 at 1:42 am
I agree with them as well, although I don’t think it’s a matter of being concerned about what portions of the animal WE may think are “fit” for consumption. Unfortunately, with a closed media, they are barely able to stay moderately informed about the issue. With a cloud of doubt about the safety, they are wise to err on the side of caution.
And yes, Mark, they are exceptionally brave to protest, given their governments demonstrated lack of tolerance for such protests.
June 17th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Well said, Doc, and good point.