수도서울을 주님께봉헌한 이명박장로님 대한민국은미국에 봉헌하기로 작정

god bless america! 수도서울을 주님께 봉헌한 이명박 장로님께서 대한민국은 미국에 봉헌하기로 작정, 할렐루야!

largest crowd in anti-lee myung-bak protest
most media report anti-us beef protest as top story

police fires a water cannon toward the demonstrators as they try to advance to the presidential house of cheongwadae in downtown seoul, south korea on may 31, 2008.
photo courtesy of yna

tens of thousands of south koreans demonstrated in downtown seoul on may 31, 2008 in protest against government's decision to lift an embargo on american beef. ten times more south korean citizens gathered in major cities around the nation demanding president lee myung-bak's government to revoke his decision to resume importing us beef.

the angry demonstrators included teenagers and young mothers who gathered in downtown seoul. they tried to march toward cheongwadae, the presidential house, in the largest anti-government demonstration ever on the last of may in 2008. they were protesting against south korean government's recent decision to import us beef in fear of mad cow disease.

demonstrators shouted such anti-government slogans as "down with president lee myung-bak" in the largest candle-light vigil protest ever.

south korean government agreed in april to lift a ban on importing us beef. us beef was banned for nearly five years in the wake of the first reporting case of mad cow disease in the state of washington in 2003.


south korean demonstrators are confronted with police on june 1, 2008 as they try to march toward the presidential house of cheongwadae in anti-government protest.
photo courtesy of yna

south korea's major media including pro-government conservative dailies reported the anti-government demonstrations taking place in seoul and in many of the nation's cities around the country.

liberal-minded hankyoreh reported on may 30, 2008 that as many as 50,000 citizens gathered in downtown seoul in a peaceful candle-light protest against government's decision to resume importing us beef. it went on to report that the number of anti-government demonstrators amounted to 100,000 in major cities around the country.

hankyoreh reported that protesters included teenage schoolgirls and housewives carrying their babies. they shouted "we cannot feed our babies beef from the ones inflicted with mad cow disease."

hankyoreh said that some of the protesters marched a place only 1 kilo meters away from the presidential house. it said scores of protesters were arrested by the riot police who fired water cannon toward the crowd.

even the conservative big three dailies of chosun, chungang, donga vernacular dailies started to report the anti-government protests. they treated the anti-government protests as their top stories. the mass-circulation dailies were normally resistent of reporting any stories critical of president lee and his government.

chosun ilbo reported that some 1,000 demonstrators broke police barricade and advanced 1 kilo meters from the presidential house. they were shouting anti-government slogans as well as anti-us beef ones. the protesters were also clamoring for the rights for peaceful demonstrations.

it said that at around 11:50 p.m. on may 31, 2008, police started firing water cannon toward the marching crowd. they were shouting "down with dictator," and "down with president lee myung-bak."

another conservative daily chungang ilbo reported that some 30,000 citizens gathered in a place in front of secoul city government building in downtown seoul.

it said that activists from 1,700 civic groups, university students, politicians, as well as ordinary citizens gathered in the largest candle-light protest ever. they were demanding that the south korean government renegotiate with the us government on importing american beef.

the daily also reported that the demonstrators shouted anti-government slogans such as "down with president lee myung-bak." some people even shaved their head in strong protest.

the newspaper added that the demonstrators represented nearly all ages including early teens and late 70s.

it quoted a 75-year-old kim seung-ok as saying "president lee lacks the ability to deal with us beef and i decided to join in this protest for my country."

라디오코리아

pascal