By Xinhua,
Seoul : South Korea’s opposition parties vowed Thursday to join nationwide protest rallies and take legal action against the government after it lifted the ban on U.S. beef import earlier Thursday.
“The president has abandoned his own people for the sake of achieving the United States’ faith,” said the main opposition party floor leader Won Hye-young. “We will stand by the public and fight off imports, using every possible measure.”
Opposition parties claimed that the government has violated the law by immediately enforcing the new trade pact, as it normally requires at least 60 days for new administrative measures to go into effect after public notice.
Ending their overnight sit-in inside the parliament building, lawmakers of the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) held an emergency meeting Thursday, agreeing to join street protests and boycott the parliament until the government withdraws its official announcement to resume imports.
The party also said it will take legal action to request the court to suspend imports and push ahead with revision of a local law on animal epidemics to legally fend off beef from older cattle and other meat parts that are considered vulnerable to mad cow disease.