hankyoreh

” which was popular as a symbol of the country’s popular struggle for democracy during the military-backed government of the 1980s

Regular citizens, activists and Internet activists alike have reacted negatively to the results of additional negotiations on the U.S. beef agreement, announced by the government on June 21. During a press conference held that day, the People’s Countermeasure Council against Full Resumption of Imports of U.S. Beef Endangered with Mad Cow Disease criticized the additional negotiations as a “makeshift measure that cannot ensure the people’s safety.” The council says that it will continue its campaign to pressure the government to renegotiate the deal. The majority of people gathered at Seoul City Hall Plaza also seemed to have reacted angrily to the government’s announcement.

One man, who was on the plaza with his wife and son, downplayed the results of the additional negotiations, saying that little progress had been made in terms of specified risk materials and the country’s quarantine sovereignty. “The government gave 90 points to the results of the additional negotiations but I would say it amounts to less than 10 points,” he said.

Lee Myeong-ae, who works at a restaurant, said that the government cannot seem to understand the public sentiment.

However, negative reactions to the government’s attempts to reconfigure the deal had been predicted even before the government made its announcement. According to a poll conducted by an MBC Radio program on June 17-18, only 8.9 percent of respondents were satisfied with the U.S. government’s guarantee that it will not export beef from cows aged older than 30 months. Approximately 44.2 percent of respondents said that the government should guarantee that it will only allow imports of beef from cows younger than 30 months and that internal organs should be banned from importation, while 40.1 percent replied that the nation should only import beef from cows younger than 20 months of age.

Woo Seok-gyun, an official of the Korean Federation of Medical Groups for Health Rights and a member of the People’s Countermeasure Council, said, “The measure to ban imports of beef from cattle older than 30 months is not effective and there is no mention about measures for SRMs.” Woo criticized the government’s attempt to avoid the current crisis.

The general sentiment throughout the country seems to be that the government is not altogether trustworthy. The situation was exacerbated when Chu Bu-gil, a presidential secretary, was reported to have said that he supported the pursuit of the cross-country canal project, which has been another controversial issue for the government of President Lee Myung-bak since he was inaugurated in February. The president said last week that he would drop the project due to widespread public resistance against it.

Seok Eun-ji, a salaried company employee, said, “The beef deal is actually a minor matter. The problem is that we can’t trust the government at all considering what it has done, and that includes the results of the additional negotiations.”

Professor Jin Jung-gwon of Chung-Ang University remarked, “The government of President Lee Myung-bak is facing a political IMF. In a situation in which people can’t trust any of its measures, the government has lost its perception of reality.”

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]