Home

U.S. beef protests

Trade Protests in South Korea

Posted on June 13, 2008 by Brandon Gast
Topics: Trade, Imports/Exports, Food

Throughout the past 40 days, South Koreans have vehemently opposed a government proposal to lift a five-year suspension on the import of U.S. beef. Fear of meat tainted with mad cow disease prompted 100,000 Koreans to take to the streets of Seoul. Korea suspended the imports in 2003 when the first case of mad cow was discovered in American beef.

The public outcry over the proposal to lift the ban is President Lee Myung Bak's first big challenge as he tries to improve relations between the U.S. and South Korea. Though the president and his administration took office in February, already the uproar has prompted the president’s entire cabinet to offer their resignations. The divisive trade deal and a trucker’s strike over the surging price of fuel could further slow the South Korean economy.

This Al Jazeera video shows some of the more striking images from the demonstrations and gives an overview of the political climate that has led to the near- daily protests.

Bookmark/Search this post with:
Keywords: U.S. beef protests, protests, Lee Myung Bak, Fuel Prices

Stories We're Watching
Subscribe

'Quiet Corruption' Hurting Africa's Poor

San Francisco Chronicle - Mon, 03/15/2010 - 09:22
A World Bank report says teachers and other public servants who don't show up for work are fueling "quiet corruption" throughout Africa that is disproportionately hurting the continent's poor.

Industrial Output Up; Hopes For Factories Grow

NPR - Mon, 03/15/2010 - 08:45
Industrial production edged up 0.1 percent in February, beating expectations and marking the eighth straight monthly increase.

Cash For Work and Planning for the Future

Mercy Corps Blog - Sun, 03/14/2010 - 23:23
Two Mercy Corps workers talk with 62-year-old Rosemarie Joseph in her makeshift tent at the Lycée Jean-Marie Vincent displacement camp in Port-au-Prince.

Price Gap Spices Sugar Fight

Wall Street Journal - Mon, 03/15/2010 - 19:42
The battle over U.S. sugar quotas is flaring once more as the gap between domestic and much-lower global prices reaches its widest level in at least a decade.

Ushahidi - Africa’s Gift to Silicon Valley

International Herald Tribune - Sun, 03/14/2010 - 12:08
A small Kenyan-born Web site is bringing crowdsourcing to disaster relief and other humanitarian causes.
See all Breaking News >

Recent comments

  • "Hello. John here. I am new to the community. First of all, I want to thank those that have put this together. It is a..."
  • "Esther, Wow! Thank you for commenting. One of the best things (among many) about applying these controlled random..."
    by Jill Scantlan
    on A 'Rising Star' in Economics
  • "Thanks for this article. One small correction though. What the post refers to as "my best known work" (the work on..."
    by Esther Duflo
    on A 'Rising Star' in Economics
  • "This is so sad, and at the same time so true. We talk so much about terrrorism on news that we forget about poverty and..."
  • "Microfinance is amazing. Allowing millions to send their children to university in order to "break the chain" and give..."

Countries

An initiative of Mercy Corps
“You must be the change
you wish to see in the world”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Learn more about Mercy Corps >

Efficiency

Over the last five years, more than 89% of Mercy Corps' resources have been allocated directly to programs

Excellence

America's premier charity evaluator gives Mercy Corps four stars in organizational efficiency. Click here to learn more.

High Value

Every dollar you donate to Mercy Corps helps us secure $11.16 in donated food and other critical supplies.

Mercy Corps — Dept. W — 45 SW Ankeny — Portland, OR 97204
 All original content Copyright © 2009 Mercy Corps. Quoted and linked content is property of the creator(s). Mercy Corps will not sell, rent or trade your personal information.