People hit the streets to protest US beef imports
The Hankyoreh | 30 May 2008
People hit the streets to protest U.S. beef imports
Gov’t is making a ‘declaration of war’ against society with resumption of imports, civic group says
As the government of South Korea notified the public that it will implement new import rules for U.S. beef imports on May 29, civic organizations, labor groups and Internet users are strongly denouncing the move. They plan to take steps to block distribution and consumption of the American meat, while warning of a “nationwide, anti-government fight” that they hope will incite the government to react properly.
In a press conference held after the government’s announcement, the civic group the People’s Countermeasure Council against the Full Resumption of Imports of U.S. Beef Endangered with Mad Cow Disease said it will take legal action and organize street demonstrations against the government’s decision to resume U.S. beef imports. The council accused the government of making “a declaration of war against all people by pushing ahead with the public notice.” In collaboration with the civic group Lawyers for a Democratic Society, the council said it will file a court injunction to nullify the public notice. Separately, they will file a complaint with the Constitutional Court to so that it can be known whether the notice was unconstitutional and plan to invite citizens to be listed as complainants.
After more than 20,000 people took to the streets for a candlelight rally in front of Seoul City Hall Plaza on the evening of the day the announcement was made, the council said it would continue to hold daily candlelight vigils in the same place. The council is aiming to draw 100,000 people for a rally on the plaza on May 31, under the title “Pan-People’s Great March to Denounce the Lee Myung-bak Government for Ignoring the People.”
Candlelight vigils were also held in other cities that day, with protests in Busan, Gwangju, Daejeon, Jeonju and Daegu.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of two nationwide labor umbrella organizations, said in a separate press conference that it is “ready to block the release of U.S. beef from 14 cold storage warehouses.” At the press conference, held in front of the Gangdong cold storage warehouse in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the KCTU said it will join hands with the Korean Transport Workers’ Union to block the transfer of U.S. beef. Also, they are vowing to block the release of U.S. beef from a cold storage warehouse at a Busan port, where more than 3,000 tons of the American meat is waiting to clear quarantine inspection.
“We will hold a non-stop demonstration from 7:00 p.m. on June 1 until 6:00 p.m. on June 2 to block the release (of U.S. beef) at the Gamman quayside of Busan port” as the new sanitary conditions for U.S. beef imports are expected to come into force on June 2, the KCTU’s local headquarters in Busan said. The planned demonstration will draw several farmers’ organizations in Gyeongsang Province.
Starting May 31, students from some 60 universities plan to hold a separate rally on the streets of Seoul’s Daehangno. In addition, Internet users have posted some articles on the Web, proposing a boycott of distributors and supermarket operators who import and sell U.S. beef.
