SEOUL - It is going to be a long hot summer of mass protest, skyrocketing
prices and diehard opposition to the conservative government of President Lee
Myung-bak.
South Korea's labor federation and the organizers of a nationwide campaign
against what they say are the dangers of mad cow disease have stepped up their
fight just as doors have re-opened to the import of US beef after two months of
demonstrations.
They both professed to adhere to a policy of non-violence, but Park Seok-moon
of the People's Association for Measures Against Mad Cow Disease vowed, "When
they hit, we will hit."
That was his way of justifying clashes with policemen manning barricades formed
by police buses in which more than 100 people have been injured, including at
least 40 policemen, and scores arrested as they battled to get near the Blue
House, the office and
residential complex of South Korea's president.
Park announced daily protests by Catholic priests, Protestant pastors and
Buddhist monks in the next few days - and another massive demonstration in
downtown Seoul on the weekend - in what he said would be a non-stop battle
until the government promises to negotiate yet another deal with the US on
importing American beef and "an end to all suppression of activities against
the people".
At the same time, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), claiming
800,000 members nationwide, called a two-hour "general strike" on Wednesday and
promised more strikes in coming days and weeks until Korea stops importing US
beef and listens to what its leader called "the voices of the people".
The protest promised to grow more intense as Lee warned of "a third oil shock"
from rising oil prices and pleaded with industry, politicians and workers to
work together to overcome what he said was a "crisis" with which "the
government alone is not capable of coping".
Lee, however, faced a critical of lack of cooperation from wide segments of the
public as the opposition United Democratic Party said its members would
continue to refuse to attend sessions of the National Assembly as long as the
government stands fast against the protests that have become nightly
occurrences in central Seoul.
The boycott blocks Lee's attempts at ramming through bills that he had promised
to revive the economy and also keeps the National Assembly from approving the
free trade agreement worked out by US and South Korean negotiators in nearly
one and a half years of talks during the administration of Lee's presidential
predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun.
The boycott provides a measure of revenge for the left-leaning United
Democratic Party, whose candidate lost badly to Lee in December's presidential
election. Lee's victory represented a return of conservative rule after a
decade of leftist leadership that began with the election of Roh's predecessor,
Kim Dae-jung, in December 1997 at the height of the economic crisis that had
forced the government to ask the International Monetary Fund for a US$58
billion bailout.
A member of the UDP's National Assembly delegation was quoted by Yonhap, the
Korean news agency, as saying that "now is more a time to continue fighting
alongside the public" rather than return to the assembly.
While calling for unity, Lee and Prime Minister Han Seung-soo have also ordered
a crackdown on the organizations behind the protests. Police in recent days
have raided some of their offices, confiscating computers and records and
questioning some of the leaders to see how they have organized protests in
which hundreds of demonstrators have tugged at ropes and cables to move police
buses, set them on fire and broken windows.
Park Seok-woon claimed his People's Association for Measures Against Mad Cow
Disease represented 1,800 groups nationwide, but described the protests as a
spontaneous outpouring that had begun with candlelight marches by teenagers
angered over the prospect of risking mad cow disease by eating school lunches
consisting of hamburgers made from American beef.
"Candlelight protests will happen all over the country," he said. "The protests
are not led by specific groups. These are purely voluntary activities."
He said his organization was actually investigating "the few people" who he
said were responsible for fomenting violence against the police but promised,
"We will stand by the people's will and highly criticize what the government
has said about its intentions" to crack down on the demonstrations.
"We have a motto," he went on. "It is, 'We will gather until it happens'."
What is likely to happen, however, is an unremitting confrontation whose
outcome is far from clear. Protesters have staged demonstrations outside the
offices of the country's largest newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, and roughed up
reporters for both Chosun Ilbo and Dong A Ilbo. Attacking both
papers as conservative and pro-government, protesters call
regularly for Lee's ouster and have in recent days adopted an increasingly
anti-American tone, even though the demonstrations have not been targeting
American bases.
Nam In-soon, another leader of the People's Association for Measures Against
Mad Cow Disease, said she was aware of "great concern among US organizations
that the protest is anti-American" but said the demonstrators "want the US to
take a rational approach" to the agreement reached by Lee's government two
weeks ago for the US to export beef from cattle that were less than 30 months
old.
Nam accused US negotiators of "reflecting claims of the cattle industry" while
inspecting only 1% of the beef on the market, imposing only voluntary
restraints on American exporters and failing to give Koreans the right to
inspect the beef on their own.
For all those reasons, protest groups have been denouncing last month's
agreement, negotiated by Lee's government to replace an agreement reached in
April before Lee flew to the US to meet President George W Bush at Camp David.
The protests erupted two weeks after Lee's return after a major TV network,
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, carried a program showing a "downer" cow
supposedly stricken with mad cow disease.
The cow was later found to not be suffering from the disease, but the program
was a reminder of the case of mad cow disease discovered in an American cow in
Washington State in 2003. It was after that case was reported that South Korea,
in December 2003, cut off the import of American beef. South Korea by then was
the third-largest market for US beef exports with sales exceeding $800 million
that year.
KCTU president Lee Suk-haeng acknowledged that the protests will have proven
successful if they influence the US government to refuse to ratify the free
trade agreement between the two countries. Members of the US Congress,
including presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, have
already said it is "flawed", and US officials have warned it has no chance if
beef does not get into South Korea even though it's not included in the
agreement.
Lee said his KCTU has been in touch with the AFL-CIO, the largest US labor
organization, to coordinate opposition to the trade pact. Both the KCTU and the
AFL-CIO have warned of loss of jobs if import restraints are lifted - this
despite the view of US and Korean leaders that the free trade agreement will
vastly increase opportunities.
"The KCTU has grave concerns about the negative impact of FTA," said Lee. "Job
creation will not be permanent employment. Most cases of job creation will be
in the service sector, and in most cases we will lose decent and good jobs."
Just how much support the KCTU really has among Korean workers, however, is far
from clear. A KCTU spokesperson said more than 500,000 members had voted to
strike in protest against beef imports, but that number appeared to reflect
votes cast on behalf of thousands of workers and not by the workers themselves.
As US beef slowly made its way onto Korean markets, the KCTU has promised to
demonstrate outside port and storage facilities, warehouses and markets where
it's sold. KCTU's president said 18 unionists had been arrested in such
protests already in pursuit of what he said was "peaceful" opposition to US
beef.
Nam In-soon of the People's Association for Measures Against Mad Cow Disease
promised to carry the fight to the retail level. "After the US beef is in our
market, we will campaign, 'Do not buy, do not sell, do not use'," she said. "We
will campaign in our daily life and activities."
She accused the Lee government of caring only about profits, at the expense of
public health. "What they emphasize is money over life," she said. "Hee works
under some other kind of value system."
Journalist Donald Kirk has been covering Korea - and the confrontation of
forces in Northeast Asia - for more than 30 years.
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