Thousands rally in Seoul against US beef deal

SEOUL- Police arrested 29 protesters Tuesday while breaking up an overnight rally in South Korea's capital by thousands of activists opposed to a beef-import deal with the U.S. that has sparked fears of mad cow disease.
The demonstration, which initially drew some 3,000 people in Seoul, ended in the early hours of Tuesday as riot police moved in to break it up. Sporadic clashes occurred but no serious injuries were immediately reported.
The protesters have demanded that the government renegotiate the beef agreement, which critics say does not protect the country from beef infected with mad cow disease.
Nullify the agreement," the protesters chanted as they were stopped by some of the 7,000 riot police blocking off streets downtown.
Thousands of South Koreans, mostly students and other young people, have held similar vigils and street rallies on a near-daily basis against the April 18 deal to resume U.S. beef imports.
Twenty-nine protesters were detained and were being questioned, said a police officer at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.
The latest detentions came hours after police freed 36 out of 68 demonstrators arrested at separate rallies Sunday and Monday. Police said they will decide later Tuesday whether to prosecute the 32 others.
The protests are perhaps the biggest domestic challenge faced so far by Lee, who took office three months ago. Lee last week sought to reassure the country over the safety of U.S. beef, but failed to ease public anger.
Lee, who was scheduled to depart Tuesday for a visit to China, has been criticized for making too many concessions on the beef issue to prompt the U.S. Congress to approve a free trade agreement. South Korea and the U.S. agreed to the landmark accord last year to slash tariffs and other trade barriers, but the deal must still be endorsed by legislatures in both countries.
Scientists believe mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, spreads when farmers feed cattle with recycled meat and bones from infected animals. In humans, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal malady, is linked to eating meat products contaminated with the cattle disease.