ID :
32271
Tue, 11/25/2008 - 17:27
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/32271
The shortlink copeid
Farmers protest FTA with U.S. in downtown rally
SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- Tens of thousands of farmers rallied in front of the National Assembly on Tuesday, protesting the ruling party's move to ratify a free trade deal with the United States amid soaring agricultural costs.
Sporting rice sacks on their upper body and red head bands spewing anti-FTA
slogans, the farmers sat on the pavement of the Yeouido Park shouting, "Stop the
FTA ratification!"
The ruling Grand National Party is pushing to have the free trade deal ratified
so that it may press Washington to do its part to implement the trade pact. The
Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress and U.S. President-elect Barack Obama have
reportedly been opposed to the Korea-U.S. deal as being counterproductive for the
U.S. auto industry.
South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party argues Seoul should not hurry but
wait, to gain the edge in future talks.
About 25,000 farmers from as far as the southern Jeju Island traveled by bus and
plane, many saddled with rising fertilizer, cattle feed and herbicide costs. A
pack of fertilizer, for example, has jumped to 22,000 won (US$14.64) compared to
less than 7,000 won just two years ago.
"President Kim Dae-jong did a good job, President Roh Moo-hyun was so so, but
President Lee Myung-bak doesn't know the situation at all," Won Dong-ju, 59, a
rice and garlic farmer from Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, said.
A 40-kg pack of rice is valued roughly the same as a fertilizer pack in market,
they said, while feed costs for cattle are at a record high amid the influx of
cheap imports from the U.S.
Lee, a former Seoul mayor and Hyundai CEO, won the presidential election by the
widest-ever margin late last year with a pledge to boost the economy, but his
pro-business, trickle-down policy such as a U.S. beef import deal and tax cuts
spawned accusations that he was sidelining the working classes. Lee's approval
ratings remain at around 25 percent, according to weekly surveys by the
non-governmental Korea Society Opinion Institute.
The farmers brought a colorful bier to demonstrate cabbages, the prices of which
have plunged ahead of the kimchi-making winter season, during their street parade
that followed the rally.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
Sporting rice sacks on their upper body and red head bands spewing anti-FTA
slogans, the farmers sat on the pavement of the Yeouido Park shouting, "Stop the
FTA ratification!"
The ruling Grand National Party is pushing to have the free trade deal ratified
so that it may press Washington to do its part to implement the trade pact. The
Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress and U.S. President-elect Barack Obama have
reportedly been opposed to the Korea-U.S. deal as being counterproductive for the
U.S. auto industry.
South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party argues Seoul should not hurry but
wait, to gain the edge in future talks.
About 25,000 farmers from as far as the southern Jeju Island traveled by bus and
plane, many saddled with rising fertilizer, cattle feed and herbicide costs. A
pack of fertilizer, for example, has jumped to 22,000 won (US$14.64) compared to
less than 7,000 won just two years ago.
"President Kim Dae-jong did a good job, President Roh Moo-hyun was so so, but
President Lee Myung-bak doesn't know the situation at all," Won Dong-ju, 59, a
rice and garlic farmer from Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, said.
A 40-kg pack of rice is valued roughly the same as a fertilizer pack in market,
they said, while feed costs for cattle are at a record high amid the influx of
cheap imports from the U.S.
Lee, a former Seoul mayor and Hyundai CEO, won the presidential election by the
widest-ever margin late last year with a pledge to boost the economy, but his
pro-business, trickle-down policy such as a U.S. beef import deal and tax cuts
spawned accusations that he was sidelining the working classes. Lee's approval
ratings remain at around 25 percent, according to weekly surveys by the
non-governmental Korea Society Opinion Institute.
The farmers brought a colorful bier to demonstrate cabbages, the prices of which
have plunged ahead of the kimchi-making winter season, during their street parade
that followed the rally.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
