Mad cow scare: protests turn violent
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Two weeks ago we published a post about the Internet-driven campaign in South Korea to boycott American beef imports because of fears of mad cow disease. Protests have since escalated in Seoul, where 60,000 demonstrators clashed with police at the weekend.
Two weeks ago we published a post about the Internet-driven campaign in South Korea to boycott American beef imports because of fears of mad cow disease. Protests have since escalated in Seoul, where 60,000 demonstrators clashed with police at the weekend.
Protesters gathered in the square in front of the city hall, where riot police fired at them with water cannons. Around 300 were arrested during the strict police intervention (see video).
The campaign was launched in mid-May following a decision by the country's president to lift an embargo, in place since 2003, banning the import of American beef. Increasingly outrageous rumours began circulating, and Web users went as far as saying that even Alzheimer's could be transmitted from the "dangerous" meat. Read our post from the beginning of the crisis.
Video filmed early morning June 1 and posted on Liveleak by "ReapTheWhirlwind".