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SEOUL: South Korean police on Monday took a tougher stance against protesters who have disrupted the capital for weeks, raiding the offices of one group and detaining 130 people at an overnight rally.
The candlelit protests against US beef imports have turned more violent since the government last week authorised the resumption of the imports, saying it had secured extra safeguards against any danger of mad cow disease.
More than 200 were hurt overnight Saturday, as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was visiting Seoul, when police battled demonstrators.
As part of an apparent new policy, police blocked a protest scheduled for Sunday evening at Seoul City Hall plaza before it could start. They said they subsequently detained 130 people, mostly for blocking nearby roads.
At dawn on Monday, people raided the office of the People's Association for Measures Against Mad Cow Disease, a city police spokesman said. They seized computers and items such as flags and loudspeakers and arrested one organiser.
Police have put eight protest leaders on the wanted list for organising violent demonstrations.
New conservative President Lee Myung-Bak, who was previously under pressure over the April decision to resume imports, is now being pressed by conservative media to reassert the government's authority in the streets.
JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, in an editorial headlined "Anarchy in the Republic," called for a strong response.
"We have a question for those leading these increasingly violent rallies. Are they really trying to end the candlelight protests or wage a street war?" it said.
A survey by Chosun Ilbo newspaper said 57 per cent of respondents oppose continuing candlelit vigils while 38 per cent are in favour.
Some 67 per cent said the vigils were being used for political purposes, according to the survey of 1,013 people.
Government supporters say the rallies are increasingly being taken over by leftwing anti-American and anti-government groups and becoming more violent.
"The police in principle respect the constitutional freedom for anybody to rally and demonstrate in a peaceful way," Seoul police said in a notice online.
"But the police are arresting and stopping those who act illegally."
The People's Association for Measures Against Mad Cow Disease said the raid on its offices was "nothing but a childish plot to portray... the civic groups as illegal organisations in order to separate them from ordinary citizens and put out the candles."
The government's decision in April to resume US beef imports, which were halted in 2003 after a mad cow case in the United States, sparked weeks of mass rallies which put Lee under pressure.
He twice apologised for his handling of the beef issue. The government suspended the import plan until it secured extra health safeguards in negotiations with Washington.
Quarantine authorities said 85 tons of frozen US beef -- out of some 5,300 tons already in cold storage awaiting clearance -- has been inspected and could be shipped to consumers Monday.
The Korea Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU) said it sent members to warehouses nationwide to try to block shipments.
Metalworkers' unions affiliated to the KCTU said up to 130,000 workers in the auto and other industries would strike for two hours Wednesday, to protest at US beef imports and to press management in wage talks.
- AFP/jk
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