YONHAP NEWS

Thousands march against U.S. beef on eve of historic democracy anniversary

   By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, June 9 (Yonhap) -- Thousands of Koreans marched in central Seoul on Monday night opposing the government's decision to fully resume U.S. beef imports, as tension mounted on the eve of the anniversary of a historic pro-democracy protest.

   Holding candles and chanting slogans -- "Victory is for people" and "Start renegotiation" -- the protesters continued the month-long candlelight rally that was growing in size and intensity despite President Lee Myung-bak's repeated assurances of the safety of U.S. beef.

   "The government is trying to put off the candles by mobilizing police and information agents, but this is the place where we are writing a new chapter in the history of our democracy," Lee Hak-young, secretary-general of the Korea YMCA, said to a roaring crowd before they began a march alongside Seoul City Hall.

   Police were particularly alert on the eve of the 21st anniversary of the June 10 democracy protest. Marking the historic 1987 rally that led the then military regime to adopt a direct presidential election system that year, civic organizers said that as many as 1 million people will join the nationwide candlelight rallies on Tuesday. Police prepared to dispatch 40,000 officers.

   Amid growing concerns of violence, new trends have emerged on the streets to better connect with the general public. Jang Yo-han, 24, was one of new tech-savvy young Koreans who broadcast the rallies live with a Web cam and a laptop.

   "Initially, I was just one of the participants," he said, holding a notebook and sporting an earphone and a microphone.

   "Many journalists were there, but they did not report things that I thought were very important. Scenes like police firing water cannons and wielding shields did not make it onto TV," he said, adding that just nine days after his broadcast started at www.afreeca.com, he gets about 2,000 visitors daily.

   Labor unions prepared for a massive walkout after a blue-collar worker and activist died on Monday after immolating himself protesting the beef imports late last month.

   To ease public concerns, Lee said his government will ensure the safety of U.S. beef. He held his first-ever telephone conversation with U.S. President George W. Bush over the weekend and received Washington's promise that beef from cattle older than 30 months will not be exported to Korea, according to Lee's office.

   Seoul agreed in April to allow U.S. beef from all ages of cattle to be exported to Korea, banning only specified risk materials from cattle older than 30 months, such as tongues, brains, part of the intestines and vertebrae marrow, which are known to have the greatest risk of transmitting mad cow disease to humans.

   Koreans say the beef pact cannot protect them against mad cow disease, generally discovered in cattle over 30 months old. A civic guideline suggested that Seoul impose stricter guidelines, banning meat from cattle older than 20 months, as Japan does.

   All of Lee's senior secretaries offered their resignations last week to take responsibility for the growing controversy. Lee has yet to accept their resignations.

   hkim@yna.co.kr
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