Korean clashes over US deal

TENS of thousands of South Korean farmers and workers clashed with riot police yesterday at a rally against a free trade agreement with the US.

Some protesters fought with riot police wearing helmets and shields, attacking them with sticks, throwing stones and trying to turn over police buses set up to block the protest site in central Seoul. Police fired water cannons at the protesters and sprayed fire extinguishers.

The protesters occupied a 16-lane road and chanted slogans against the free trade deal. Police said they arrested a total of 100 protesters and that more than 10 riot police were hurt. Organisers said a total of 50 demonstrators were hurt — mostly suffering head injuries.

Organisers said about 50,000 people participated in the protest, while police estimated there were 20,000 demonstrators.

“We will thwart [the passage] of the FTA as it would deepen the polarisation of our society,” said Woo Moon-sook, of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the organisers of the rally near Seoul City Hall.

Trade chiefs from the two countries signed the accord in June, concluding months of tough negotiations to lower or eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers on a wide range of industries and services.

The proposed agreement must be endorsed by legislatures in both capitals before it goes into effect. The South Korean government submitted the proposal to parliament in September for approval.

The deal is the largest for the US since the North American Free Trade Agreement more than a decade ago, and the largest ever for South Korea.

Both sides said theaccord will boost growth, but certain constituencies, such as farmers in South Korea and labour groups in the US, have opposed it.

Although the dealexcluded rice — a keyKorean crop — farmers are worried that other kinds of US agricultural produce will pour into the country, threatening their livelihoods.

“Farmers would be the biggest victim of the free trade deal,” said Lee Young-soo, a farmer who attended the rally, adding that the agriculture industry will collapse.