No, I am not talking about our Prime Minister or Minister Mentor here, I am referring to the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-Bak. Few would expect that after his landslide victory in the December election, he would be facing a huge backlash from the majority of the country which is most recently due to his decision to resume U.S. beef imports. Over the past few weeks or so, thousands have gone to the streets to protest against the government decision to resume U.S. beef imports.
Protesters said US beef carries a risk of the human form of mad cow disease. Imports had been suspended in 2003 after a mad cow case. High school students were concerned that the cheaper U.S. imports would be used in their school lunches without their knowledge, despite government pledges to enforce labeling of meat for the country of its origin. Both Seoul and Washington insist U.S. beef is safe, citing the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health. However, that didn't prevent thousands of uniformed high schoolers to march in the streets to protest, while carrying candles in calm vigils which then quickly grew into daily rallies — sometimes violent — as more groups latched on to the anti-Lee cause, raising issues about a range of policies including reforms for health care and the educational system.
The beef issue has not only taken its tolls on President Lee, but his cabinet members as well. Earlier Tuesday, Lee's cabinet offered to quit to take responsibility for the political crisis but Lee did not say whether he would accept their departures. Nicknamed "The Bulldozer" for decisively pushing through projects as a Hyundai construction CEO and Seoul mayor before getting elected, Lee has instead been labeled by protesters as a "dictator" who fails to heed public opinion and panders to American interests. Before he was elected president, he had great plans for the country but with the global slowdown dragging on South Korea's export-driven economy and rising food prices fueling inflation, Lee had to do some changes to his plan to deal with the current situation. Therefore, it is not only the beef imports issue that is affecting him but also other factors too.
It's amazing to see how a man,who was so popular and well supported before the election, has now become the biggest public enemy. His win in the election was lopsided and he was talking about how he would improve South Korea's economy and the country's international profile but now, he is going to have to think about how he is going to win the support and confidence back from the people and it has only been about 5 months since he became president. Lee's public approval rating has sunk to around a miserable 20%, and it looks like he'll have to reshuffle his cabinet to calm the critics down. Don't get me wrong. I like President Lee a lot. I think he is a nice man and I think he did a great job when he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, which is the country's largest construction company and when he was the mayor of Seoul. He was firm, very commanding, and had a can-do attitude which in the end, appealed to voters after five years under the liberal, leadership of Roh Moo Hyun, Lee's predecessor as president.
I would like to get back to the decision to resume U.S. beef imports. In late April,Lee lifted the ban on imports of U.S. beef ahead of a summit with President George W. Bush to improve ties and to help clear the way for ratification of an important free-trade agreement with the U.S. I have the feeling that Lee is a pro-American guy, which is another reason why I like him but unfortunately, most South Koreans doesn't share the same views. To them, it looked like President Lee was selling out to Washington, in the process endangering public safety as well as hurting Korea's agricultural industry which I thought was not a fair assessment of things. You might want to know that Mr.Lee did reimpose the ban on imports of U.S. beef but it only applies to cattle which is more than 30 months old, which are more susceptible to mad cow disease. This of course, was not what the public had asked for. They wanted a full ban of U.S. beef. I, like Mr Lee himself, understand how the public are feeling towards this issue. They are worried about their health but the mad cow disease is now over and so I dont see why they want to ban the import of U.S. beef once more.
I think the problem is getting out of hand as each day goes by. I doubt Mr.Lee will listen to the public and ban it once again. There are times when a leader need to listen to its people and do as they are told but there are times when they should think what is the best outcome for their people and follow with their guts instead whether the majority approve of it or not. I would love to see Mr.Lee as the country's president for a longer time, I am getting to like him more, but right now, he is facing with a difficult challenge. I hope he will not follow the footsteps of his cabinet members by stepping down. I believe he will bring a lot of success South Korea but the current global situation are not helping him and he needs more time to prove himself.
I am confident that he will weather the storm and I am confident that if he stays on and complete his term as the president, it will be a day when they look back on many success rather than failures. But whatever the outcome is,President Lee will continue to have my support. He said that he is determined to make a fresh start yesterday and I hope South Koreans be determined to do the same thing as well, but not as in fresh start with a new president I hope.
*This report was taken from from Associated Press & AFP.
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