South Korean protesters continued Friday for second day physically blocking the shipment of U.S. beef stored at piers nationwide, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Hundreds of unionists from the South Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the more militant of the nation's two umbrella labor groups, gathered at major piers across the country, to prevent the distribution of the U.S. beef.
At 12 piers around Gyeonggi Province in the metropolitan region, 20 to 50 unionists started to gather and resume the blockade of the U.S. beef.
The move comes as quarantine inspections of the U.S. beef started early Friday after being postponed from the previous day, due to the blockade by protesters.
Some 30 unionists, who stayed all night at the Gamman pier at the Busan port, continued with their protest, saying a new beef agreement with the U.S. fails to effectively address fears of mad cow disease and calling for a completely new deal.
A deal was reached in April between Seoul and Washington to fully resume the imports that had been halted or highly restricted since 2003, when a case of mad cow disease was found in the United States.
South Korean and U.S. officials revised the April 18 agreement last week in an effort to soothe fears of mad cow disease, saying American beef imports are safe due to an effective inspection system.
Source:Xinhua
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