A mob of 50,000 South Koreans that have taken to the streets of Seoul to protest the importation of U.S. beef may soon be satiated.

WAIT, U.S. beef? I eat that. Apparently, Americans are uninformed and/or unfazed about our country’s 3 confirmed cases of mad cow disease - or what I like to more pictorially describe as “Swiss Cheese Brain.” South Koreans are informed and highly fazed, however.

Since 2003, when the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was discovered, the once third-largest importer of U.S. beef quit cold turkey. But in May this year, new South Korean President Lee Myung-bak signed a beef deal with the U.S. (just hours before meeting with President Bush coincidentally.) Protests commenced immediately and have risen in their intensity over the past two months, culminating with over a dozen injuries in clashes with police recently.

Protestors were finally rewarded this week with an announcement of a parliamentary inquiry into the decision made by President Lee Myung-bak. The amount of money lost in terms of productivity and police use in the country because of the beef protests is estimated at $2.5 billion dollars.

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written by TheLittleGuy, July 13, 2008

I'm sure this is 99.9% about money and protecting their local market, not any concern of mad cow disease.

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written by Citizen Politician, July 13, 2008

I am glad that people are all over the world are standing up for their rights not consume franken food. And there is NOTHING wrong with protecting local markets, good for the people of South Korea!

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