Stop US beef!!!

Demonstrations are plentiful in South Korea, and these last few days they were literally flooding the city of Seoul. The reason is that people object to the US beef import agreement by the new president, Lee Myung-bak, who only took office in February this year. (The photo here was taken by Louis Palmer, the Swiss protagonist of Solartaxi, who happens to be in Seoul at the moment. I will write more about him since we will have the chance to travel with this adventurer soon).
Link to Solartaxi
If you ask Koreans why they are against the import, the first answer is they fear BSE, or mad cow disease since the US beef imports are allegedly not controlled by any official state inspection institution. In fact, one of my colleagues said she would never eat beef again, ever (and so far, she kept that promise - I'm wondering for how long). A closer inquiry, though, also reveals quite some protectionist motives (Korean beef is more expensive, but it is allegedly also of higher quality and the healthier meat), and if you discuss even further, it turns out that people take this welcome opportunity to manifest their disapproval for the current president.
People are wearing two kinds of T-shirts at the demo: One says "I didn't vote for Lee Myung-bak!" and the other one "I'm sorry I voted for Lee Myung-bak!" Approval rates for Mr. Lee have plummeted to some 21%, while he was voted by almost half of the voting population at the elections in December last year. Official apologies for not having consulted the public opinion didn't help - especially because the deal was still struck with the US.
It is astonishing how matters like this can take on such dynamics. It shows how important it is to understand public emotions, even if they are irrational. If Mr. Lee is unlucky, this incident will thwart the rest of his presidency - in the worst case leading to his resignation.