SEOUL – Police in South Korea refused to allow more candlelight protests against renewed U.S. beef imports hours after thousands of protesters clashed with police in the capital.
The South Korean government has reportedly said that it would not tolerate violent, illegal rallies. Police used buses to surround a plaza in front of Seoul’s city hall, the site of many rallies against the resumption of imports, to prevent people from gathering. About 1,700 people still gathered in nearby streets demanding that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak cancel his decision to allow beef imports again.