ISDS Case Map
Korea
Mass protests in South Korea against US beef are bad news for Australian exporters, costing millions of US dollars in lost sales and jeopardising a crucial free trade deal, the Cattle Council says.
US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said Thursday the United States and South Korea will come up with a solution to the ongoing controversy over Seoul's decision to resume imports of American beef thorough "additional understandings"' to their deal signed in April. Vershbow, however, ruled out renegotiating the deal, saying it could damage the national interests of the two countries ― including the possible failure to ratify the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Up to a million Korean citizens from all walks of life participated in candlelight protests held on the 21st anniversary of a pro-democracy uprising, with a total of 118 candlelight protests held across the country on June 10.
On 10 June 2008, Korean social movements resisting the re-opening of their country's borders to US beef under a bilateral deal signed by the two governments are holding a watershed rally where they aim to get one million people in the streets.
Video interview with Geum Soon Yoon, member of Korean Peasant Woman's Association, taped on 3 June 2008.
A farmer, 56, who is only identified by his surname, Kim, lies in the hospital after having set himself on fire on June 5, in protest against the US beef import agreement at Seoul City Hall Plaza.
A South Korean man, Lee Byong-Ryol, has died in hospital two weeks after setting himself ablaze in protest at a deal to resume US beef imports.
The South Korean government says it will return or destroy all US beef from cattle older than 30 months in the process of its import quarantine if private sectors in both South Korea and the US voluntarily reach an agreement to impose an age limit in their beef trade. This would run directly counter to the US-Korea beef import deal signed in mid-April.
The Bush administration, whose major political funding sources allegedly involve ranchers, is likely to urge China and Japan to "fully" open their beef markets, citing the negotiation results with South Korea.
Korean public opinion wants a complete scrap of the April 18 beef deal with the US. The scale, intensity, and variety of participants in the street protests continue to grow. The mood is like a “Second June Struggle,” the June Struggle of 1987 having been a significant event in Korea's democracy movement. However some say that the May struggle for nullification of Beef deal has a lot of significant signs that differ from 1987 democracy struggle. These actions are creating New democracy.
