The 2008 US beef protest in South Korea was an importation issue in South Korea – United States relations after the closure of the South Korean market to US beef imports upon the discovery of a US case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in 2003.[1] President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak's attempt to reopen the Korean market to US beef in 2008 led protests due to the threat of mad cow disease. The demonstrations were the country's largest anti-government protests in 20 years.[2]
Protesters said that the beef import deal had been reached hastily to meet the schedule for Lee's first visit to the United States and to promote a positive relationship with the United States over well-being of its citizens and national sovereignty.[3] This perception has been linked with general concern about Lee's other unpopular plans and policies such as privatization, the Korea-US FTA, the Grand Korean Waterway, competitive educational system, wealth-based cabinet appointments and pro-business policy. Some media anger over the South Korean government’s decision to resume imports of U.S. beef ran high after the Korean government was found to have made a series of errors in its negotiations with the United States.[4]
No case of mad cow disease in humans, or vCJD has been linked to consumption of US beef.[5] Fear of mad cow disease in US beef is not limited to South Korea, though no demonstrations against US beef import agreement have occurred elsewhere. By 2006, sixty-five nations have had full or partial restrictions on importing U.S. beef products because of fears that the testing for Mad Cow Disease lack rigor. As a result, U.S. beef product exports declined from $3.8 billion in 2003, before the first mad cow was detected in the USA, to $1.4 billion in 2005.[6]
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The Government of South Korea banned imports of US beef in 2003 when a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease was discovered in a cow in Washington.[7] By 2006, the United States Department of Agriculture would confirm a total of three cases of BSE-infected cattle, two raised domestically, and one imported from Canada.[8] At the time, South Korea was the third-largest purchaser of US beef exports, with an estimated market value of $815 million.
An early attempt to reopen the Korean market in the fall of 2006 failed when the Korean government discovered bone chips in the shipment.[9] Sporadic attempts made in the following year also failed for similar reasons.[10][11]
When President Lee Myung-bak assumed office in February 2008, it was widely expected that he would relax the ban on US beef as part of the process of ratification for the South Korea – United States Free Trade Agreement concluded by his predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun. Lee agreed to relax the restrictions and eventually reopen the Korean market to US beef, including, eventually, beef from cattle over 30 months of age. It is widely believed the beef negotiations were settled as a “gift” given to the United States in exchange for President Lee Myung-bak’s U.S. visit in April 2008. One of the grounds for this widely-accepted belief is that the beef negotiations were concluded too abruptly, with no breakthrough in the final stage. The talks began at 10:00 am on April 11 and ended at 5:00 am on April 18. Even at 6:00 pm on April 17, the Korean representative of the negotiations, Min Dong-seok, said, “The two sides remain far divided and the gap is too deep.” However, negotiations were abruptly settled at around 5:00 am on April 18 (right before the South Korea-U.S. summit), and the outcome revealed that South Korea had given up nearly all of its demands.[4]
Domestic beef farmers and local activists had long opposed market opening, the FTA, and the lowering of Korea's high tariffs on imported meat.[12][13][14] When Lotte Department Store attempted to sell US beef in July 2007 (during the Roh Moo-hyun administration), local activists opposed to the FTA stormed the meat counters and hurled cow dung at department store workers, abruptly terminating the resumption of sales.[15] Activists already claimed that American beef would cause mad cow disease well before the launch of the Lee Myung-Bak administration.
In 2005, the U.S. government announced its intention to revise its rules on animal feed. The proposal was that beef from cattle of any age that was unfit for human consumption could not be used in animal feed unless the brains and spinal cords, which are far more likely to be infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, were removed first. However, an article in a U.S. government federal newsletter dated April 25, 2008, reported that entire carcasses from cows less than 30 months of age, including brains and spinal cords, would be cleared for use in animal feed, even if they were determined to be unfit for human consumption.[16]
The South Korean government’s misinterpretation of the U.S. government’s rules on animal feed led to a general misunderstanding about the beef agreement between the two countries. Although the U.S. government proposed rules on animal feed that were more lenient with regard to the material that could be used to make the feed, the South Korean government misunderstood the regulation as being tougher on animal feed and lifted the age limit on imports of American meat, allowing imports of meat from cows of any age.[16] On May 11, Lee Sang-gil, the director of the South Korean Agriculture Ministry’s livestock bureau, admitted the serious mistake by saying "It was a mistake because we misinterpreted an English-language press release distributed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”[16]
Protests began shortly after the Korean channel MBC aired an episode of its news program PD Notebook, (alternately "PD Note," "PD Diary," and" PD Journal") called "Is American Beef Really Safe from Mad Cow Disease?" The program alleged that reopening the Korean market to American beef would expose Koreans to the threat of mad cow disease, and featured some footage of sick cattle being led to slaughter.
The program made numerous claims and representations, including:
Massive demonstrations began shortly after the first broadcast, and increased when MBC aired another segment two weeks later. When criticism arose, MBC initially denied that any misrepresentation. Leaked minutes from board meetings later indicated that MBC had done this to stall for time.[44][45] By June 25, pressure from politicians and other journalists caused MBC to issue a formal apology, admitting that translation errors had occurred and naming that as the root cause of any misinformation.[46] MBC's translator, Jeong Ji-min, however, objected that no such mistranslation had taken place, and that instead, the producers had deliberately inflated the risk of BSE.[47]
MBC would eventually become subject to various legal actions as a result of its programming. The Korea Communications Commission, headed by Choi Si-Jung who worked for President Lee's election campaign and was appointed by him,[48] was first to launch an investigation, and concluded that MBC had deliberately distorted facts and/or fabricated information in order to exaggerate the threat of mad cow disease. On August 12, the Korea Communications Commission compelled MBC to apologize on air for its mistranslations.[49][50] MBC also became subject to investigation by the prosecution,[18][51] whose summons it chose to either ignore, or to repel with physical force,[52] as well as a class action lawsuit which was later dismissed. The prosecution’s investigation and indictment of the producers have been widely criticized for being excessive and for infringing on press freedoms.[53] Norma Kang Muico, Amnesty International’s Korea researcher, said, “We are extremely concerned that the human rights situation in South Korea has deteriorated since last year (2008).” As an example, she mentioned the prosecution’s indictment of five people who were involved in the production of an MBC program about mad cow disease that aired in 2008. She concluded,“The freedom of the press in Korea is now facing a challenge.”[53]
As of January 2010, all of the producers of the PD Diary program have been found no guilty by the first trial. Because, criminal court of first trial saw it as an freedom of speech. Judge decided freedom of speech is more important than incorrect report.[54]
Frequent demonstrations are a routine part of life in South Korea, where an average of 11,000 protests take place a year.[55] Such protests, have become a tolerated and accepted, if not universally embraced part of the nation's culture.[56] Protests have their roots in the student led "pro-democracy" and "pro-reunification" movements of the 1980s, and actually grew in frequency and spread throughout society after democracy was achieved.[57] Democracy was achieved mainly due to large-scale protests in 1987. Myriad groups, including sex workers, now regularly participate in street protests in Korea.[58] Larger scale protests are often violent, with protesters frequently coming armed with steel pipes or sharpened bamboo poles.[59][60] At times, protests have taken on more extreme forms, including self-immolation,[61] and on one notorious occasion, the public dismemberment of a live pig.[62][63]
Fashions in protest have also evolved, with candlelight vigils becoming widely popular in 2002 after two girls died in an accident involving US soldiers.[64] Candlelight vigils would thereafter take on uniquely Korean characteristics, and would be held for any occasion, rather than those specifically memorializing the dead. Candelight vigils have been held for reasons as varied as protesting Roh Moo-Hyun's impeachment in 2004, to a myriad of other political causes.
Technically, at that time, any protest held at night is against the law in Korea.[65] However, after the protests, the constitutional court decided that the law is unconstitutional.
Criticism of the government’s decision to open local markets to imports of U.S. beef grew due to new information that the Lee government gave up an important set of preconditions in order to push the deal through before the South Korea-U.S. summit.[66] Concessions made by the government in the course of its negotiations with Washington have caused South Korea to forfeit rights granted under international law, namely, that a government can impose a ban on imports if it finds that there is a significant risk to the public health, such as that posed by mad cow disease.[66] Some critics also pointed out that the government failed to follow internationally-accepted procedures in order to announce the beef import deal in time for a summit between Seoul and Washington. Song Ki-ho, a lawyer specializing in trade, pointed out,“The government didn’t take enough steps to let people know the risk of mad cow disease before the full opening of the local market to U.S. beef, and failed to draw national consensus on how to control the threat. This is against the regulations stipulated by the OIE.”[66] Worries proliferated rapidly after the PD Notebook broadcast, with the first "mad cow protests" held three days later by the "Nationwide Movement to Impeach Lee Myung-bak" (a forum on the Daum Internet portal service).[67] By May 4, riding a wave of fear stoked by the show, the campaign had collected more than a million signatures to impeach the President for endangering national health. Mass demonstrations began with a candlelight vigil attended by 10,000 people held in Seoul's Cheonggyecheon assembled via the Internet and text message. Demonstrations were characterized in the early stages by the presence of large numbers of teenage girls.[68] Some of the attending students held up signs saying, "I have only lived 15 years!"[69] or expressed a desire to protect their favorite domestic pop stars from disease.[70] Others said "“For the first time in our lives, we are too worried about Korea’s future to go to bed.”[71] One student told the Washington Post: "I could study hard in school. I could get a good job, and then I could eat beef and just die."[72] Fliers were distributed saying "The entire population of Korea will die." Worries continued to multiply thereafter, with Korean actress Kim Min-seon joining the fray by claiming that she would rather drink prussic acid than eat American beef.[73] Along with PD Notebook's disputable claims came new and increasingly outlandish rumors that mad cow disease was transmissible through kissing, or could be contracted through use of diapers or sanitary napkins.[74] Some people claimed that Americans do not eat their own beef and eat only imported beef from Australia and New Zealand, that Americans do not even feed US beef to dogs, and that even vegetarians in the US had died of mad cow disease. Another rumor that emerged during the protests claimed that President Lee had ceded the territory of Dokdo to Japan.[75] These outlandish rumors were mainly documented by conservative media in order to disparage the whole movement of protests. There were more than 550,000 protesters, and some of them might have been influenced by these rumors. But it is very unlikely, and there is no evidence, that they influnced the majority or a significant portion of protesters in any serious way.
The national prosecution and police said that they were going to criminally prosecute people involved in spreading so-called “mad cow horror stories” on the internet, in addition to prosecuting the organizers of candlelight protests against imports of American beef.[76] After the initial demonstration, the area in front of Seoul's City Hall as well as the adjoining streets were essentially surrendered to candlelight demonstrators for the next three months. Protesters built a makeshift tent city on the lawn at Seoul Plaza where they camped round the clock, eventually killing the grass.[77] Massive demonstrations and street marches were held nightly, paralyzing street traffic, with especially large demonstrations held on the weekends.
A carnival-like atmosphere prevailed in the first month of demonstrations.[78][79] Families arrived with children, and new mothers brought their infants in strollers.[80] Protesters adopted an iconic cartoon image of a young girl holding a candle as their unofficial symbol. Young protesters sang, danced, shot video footage of themselves, and posted it online. One popular technique involved demonstrators ridiculing the police by voluntarily turning themselves in for a ride on the police bus, dubbed the "chicken cage," and then taking and uploading photographs of themselves on the "chicken cage tour."[81] Protests in the initial weeks were generally peaceful, though there was a tendency for peaceful demonstrators in the day and the early evening, and more violent clashes at night.[82] Fifty one people who participated in an overnight rally on May 24–25 were arrested by the police. This is the first time policemen have cracked down on candlelight rallies since they began on May 2. As the police raid became violent, more violent clashes occurred.[83]
On June 1, the police began to exercise a series of illegal and drastic measures in the course of cracking down on demonstrations. They used water cannons at close range, in violation of safety regulations. A number of demonstrators were injured as riot police wielded shields and clubs. For example, one citizen who participated in a protest was hit in the face by police water cannons fired by riot police from just 10 meters away, and had his eardrum split.[84]
Protests grew in scale and clashes became more violent in June, with some protesters attacking police with steel pipes and setting fire to police buses.[85] Numerous injuries were incurred on on both sides. Demonstrators held a 72-hour relay protest from June 5–7.[86] Attendance peaked on the evening of June 10, with some 80,000 protesters, before declining thereafter.[87]
Police built a barricade across Sejong-Ro made of shipping containers filled with sand, dubbed "Myung-bak's Fortress" by protesters, intended to block protesters from marching to Cheongwadae, the office and residence of the President.[88] Protesters decorated the barrier with leaflets and large Korean flags, and photographed themselves standing on the barrier, which was dismantled several days later.
On June 26, all 14 members of the National Police Agency’s human rights committee decided to resign en masse to express regret for the crackdown on the candlelight rallies conducted by the riot police. The whole members of the committee said that the police’s excessive suppression of the demonstrations with the use of water cannons and fire extinguishers was one reason for their resignation. Another reason cited was regret over the police’s having labeled the candlelight rallies as illegal demonstrations.[89]
After Amnesty International's investigation into allegations of human rights abuse during the candlelight rallies, Norma Kang Muico, Amnesty International’s Korea researcher, advised the South Korean government to launch “immediate and fair probes into human rights abuses, including excessive use of force by police, at the candlelight demonstrations.” Muico released a report about the investigation on July 18, “I can confirm that there were cases of human rights abuse committed by the riot police, including use of excessive force, arbitrary detention, intentional suppression of protesters, brutal and non-humanitarian treatment and penalties and a lack of medical treatment for detainees. South Korea needs to swiftly correct these wrongdoings so as not to erode the democratic gains it has achieved in the past two decades.”[90]
Protesters's anger was not just due to the US beef imports issue. The candlelight rallies had other slogans such as “Stop the privatization of public companies”and "Humanized education policy".[91]
The rapid proliferation of protests and claims ensured that Lee, who had been elected with the largest margin of victory in decades, saw his approval ratings drop below 20 percent. His entire cabinet tendered their resignations.[92] More than 40,000 protesters gathered on Sejong Street in central Seoul on May 31, 2008 and police detained more than 200 after violent clashes.[93] More than 10,000 riot police were used to control the protesters; water cannon was used in some instances.[94] In response to the protests, the Lee Myung-bak administration delayed announcing the newer relaxed regulations,[95] which would not have discriminated against the import of cattle aged over 30 months. Younger cattle are thought to carry less of a risk of BSE. The protests resulted in injuries to over 200 people.[96] President Lee's popularity fell to below 30 percent.[97]
One year later, demonstrators commemorated the anniversary of the protests by forcibly seizing and occupying the stage during the opening ceremony of the Hi! Seoul Festival, forcing its abrupt cancellation.[98][99][100][101][102][103]
President Lee Myung-bak made his fomal apology on June 18, by saying, “I should have paid attention to what people want. Sitting on a hill near Cheongwadae on the night of June 10, watching the candlelight vigil, I blamed myself for not serving the people better.”[104]
Kim Dae-joong, a Korean conservative columnist, (not to be confused with former Korean President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kim Dae-jung) wrote, "it amounts to double-crossing to be really fond of America in all substantive matters, while bad-mouthing America in public protests" in an op-ed piece.[105]
The then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns said, "In beef trade issues, we base our decisions upon science."
"We have a longstanding history of military and security cooperation," Yonhap News quoted Tom Casey, deputy spokesman at the U.S. State Department, as saying. "I don't think this or any other individual issues are going to change the fundamental relations (between the two countries)."[106]
On July 2, 2008, Han Seung-soo, Prime Minister of South Korea bought 260,000 Korean won worth of US steak to eat with his family at his official residence to alleviate public worries about US beef. The same quantity of Korean beef would have cost approximately 800,000 Korean won.[107]
Despite the protests, US beef imports resumed on July 1, 2008 and became the second-most popular beef imports by August 2008. During that period, Australian beef accounted for 60% (12,753 tons) of a total 21,184 tons of imported beef, and U.S. beef came second with 20% (4,439 tons).[108]
According to Wikileaks documents, top officials of Lee's administration already agreed with then American ambassador, Alexander Vershbow, on January 17, 2008 to open up Korea's beef market, few months before Lee's trip to the USA on April 2008.[109]
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