Majority of S.Koreans oppose US beef deal - survey
SEOUL, June 24 (Reuters) - The majority of South Koreans are unhappy with the government's new deal for the re-import of U.S. beef but said the nightly rallies against President Lee Myung-bak should stop, a newspaper survey published on Tuesday said.
South Korea and the United States said at the weekend they had reached a private-sector deal to restrict trade in U.S. beef to cattle under 30 months and forbid exports of parts that are thought to pose a higher risk for mad cow disease.
But the revised deal, which followed more than a month of rallies against an original agreement that mushroomed into broader protests against Lee, has not stopped the nightly street demonstrations.
Over the weekend, some of the thousands of South Koreans who had held a candle-light vigil erupted into violence in central Seoul, clashing with police and smashing police buses set up to block protesters from marching to the presidential office.
Online message boards have been filled with posts by users wondering if the private-sector agreement is enough to prevent meat they feel poses a high risk for mad cow disease from entering the country.
In the survey conducted by the conservative Dong-a Ilbo newspaper, 52.9 percent of the 726 people polled said the revised deal should not be accepted. Just over 38 percent approved it.
Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon, said the U.S. private-sector export restrictions were a binding mechanism under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Quality System Assessment programme and Seoul had the right to return any product not in compliance.
The April beef deal was meant to help a separate bilateral free-trade accord that U.S. congressional leaders threatened to block unless South Korea opened up its market to beef imports.
Lee, who came to office on a landslide December vote, last week apologised for the beef deal and sacked his top aides. But analysts said that might not be enough to reverse a slide in public support.
The Dong-a Ilbo survey put approval for Lee at 20.3 percent, with a quarter of the respondents saying he was doing "an extremely poor job."
More than 58 percent of the people surveyed said the nightly candlelight rallies should stop, and three quarters said parliament, which has been under an opposition boycott over the beef deal, should return to work immediately. (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Valerie Lee)
South Korea and the United States said at the weekend they had reached a private-sector deal to restrict trade in U.S. beef to cattle under 30 months and forbid exports of parts that are thought to pose a higher risk for mad cow disease.
But the revised deal, which followed more than a month of rallies against an original agreement that mushroomed into broader protests against Lee, has not stopped the nightly street demonstrations.
Over the weekend, some of the thousands of South Koreans who had held a candle-light vigil erupted into violence in central Seoul, clashing with police and smashing police buses set up to block protesters from marching to the presidential office.
Online message boards have been filled with posts by users wondering if the private-sector agreement is enough to prevent meat they feel poses a high risk for mad cow disease from entering the country.
In the survey conducted by the conservative Dong-a Ilbo newspaper, 52.9 percent of the 726 people polled said the revised deal should not be accepted. Just over 38 percent approved it.
Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon, said the U.S. private-sector export restrictions were a binding mechanism under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Quality System Assessment programme and Seoul had the right to return any product not in compliance.
The April beef deal was meant to help a separate bilateral free-trade accord that U.S. congressional leaders threatened to block unless South Korea opened up its market to beef imports.
Lee, who came to office on a landslide December vote, last week apologised for the beef deal and sacked his top aides. But analysts said that might not be enough to reverse a slide in public support.
The Dong-a Ilbo survey put approval for Lee at 20.3 percent, with a quarter of the respondents saying he was doing "an extremely poor job."
More than 58 percent of the people surveyed said the nightly candlelight rallies should stop, and three quarters said parliament, which has been under an opposition boycott over the beef deal, should return to work immediately. (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Valerie Lee)
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