Mad cow Disease fears grip SKoreans
Pastor Dale Morgan
Mad cow Disease fears grip SKoreans*
By KELLY OLSEN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 28, 2008; 2:54 AM
SEOUL, South Korea -- Shin Hae-suk is convinced looming beef imports
from the United States pose a potential danger to her family.
The 54-year-old housewife believes the country will send South Koreans
meat at higher risk of mad cow disease. "What if my child eats dangerous
beef in a restaurant?" she asked.
Shin's views on American beef _ which South Korea banned in 2003 after
the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was discovered in Washington
state _ may seem odd to Americans, who wolf down steaks and hamburgers
by the millions every day produced from domestic cows.
But in Seoul, such anxieties have spurred recent street rallies on a
near daily basis that have humbled South Korea's new president and
forced his government to delay carrying out a deal with the U.S. to
resume imports.
Fears have been fanned largely by a sensational television report last
month and Internet chatter about the meat, which both governments have
repeatedly said poses no health risk. Rumors have circulated that U.S.
meat packers plan to dump beef from older cows _ considered at higher
risk for mad cow _ on the South Korean market.
A belief that the South Korean government is sacrificing safety to curry
favor with Washington and perceptions of arrogance on the part of
President Lee Myung-bak have also spurred anger.
A crowd estimated by police at about 2,000 people gathered Tuesday night
to denounce the beef import plan and call for the ouster of Lee _ who
only took office in February.
Protests, occasionally reaching 10,000 people, have been for the most
part peaceful, even festive, affairs characterized by singing, chanting
and speeches at a popular gathering place in downtown Seoul.
Many of the participants have been university students, though the
rallies have attracted others as well.
Tensions, however, have risen markedly the past few days as police
arrested over 200 people after protesters spilled onto the streets. Some
were even beaten by riot police during scuffles. Dozens of the detained
have been released.
The root of the problem goes back to December 2003 when the first case
of mad cow disease in the United States was discovered in a
Canadian-born cow. Two subsequent infections were found for a total of
three to date.
Scientists believe mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy,
spreads when farmers feed cattle with recycled meat and bones from
infected animals. In humans, eating meat products contaminated with the
cattle disease is linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare
and fatal malady.
After protracted talks, limited imports of beef from U.S. cattle less
than 30 months of age briefly hit supermarkets last year in South Korea,
formerly the third-largest export market for U.S. beef. But they were
soon halted when banned items such as bones and bone fragments were
discovered in some shipments.
Then last month, the two countries announced just hours ahead of the
start of a summit in the United States between Lee and President Bush
that the issue was resolved and U.S. imports would finally resume.
Case closed? Far from it.
A popular current affairs TV program with a reputation for muckraking
went on the air about 10 days later, questioning the safety of U.S. beef
and claiming Koreans are more susceptible to the disease that can result
from eating mad cow-infected beef.
South Korean medical officials who appeared at a press conference with
the agriculture minister denied the claims. But days later, 10,000
people gathered for a candlelight protest and the movement was up and
running.
Though relatively small compared to major protests in recent years _
such as one that drew 50,000 people to downtown Seoul in 2004 to oppose
moves to impeach then President Roh Moo-hyun _ the fact the
demonstrations refuse to die out has the government on the defensive.
Lee went on television last week to apologize for not having gained
public understanding. The government has at least twice delayed taking
the final administrative step required for imports to resume.
Some have grown weary of the clamor and are calling for the nation to
move on.
"Actions by these people may be effective in shaking this government,
but are not conducive at all to reviving the economy and stabilizing
state affairs and livelihoods, which most of the people want," the
Dong-a Ilbo newspaper said in an editorial Monday.
Suspicions the openly pro-American Lee was too eager to give in to
Washington on the beef issue to help ensure passage of a bilateral free
trade agreement, under fire from members of Congress in U.S.
beef-producing states, have not helped.
Indeed, Lee's image _ that of a can-do former businessman that helped
him win office by a landslide _ has taken a hit, with his approval
ratings falling sharply amid the view he has behaved arrogantly.
"Lee ruled us as if he was a CEO and his people were employees," said Oh
Se-young, a 43-year-old software company worker.
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Associated Press writers Jae-hyun Jeong and Jae-soon Chang and APTN
Producer Annie I. Ban contributed to this report.