South Korea's President Fires Top Advisers

SEOUL, June 20 -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak fired his top advisers on Friday in a staff overhaul meant to defuse public anger sparked by his decision to allow the importation of U.S. beef.

As Korean and U.S. negotiators neared agreement on a compromise to the beef importation rules, Lee announced that he would replace his chief of staff and seven advisers, including his top aides for foreign affairs and economic issues. According to Korean media reports, he also plans to replace as many as three cabinet ministers next week, including the minister of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Lee's entire cabinet offered to quit as recent protests expanded from a focus on the beef issue to a broader set of complaints with Lee's still-young administration, which many Koreans feel has adopted an imperious tone and focused too much on pleasing the United States.

On Thursday, Lee issued a public apology for failing to grasp the fears his people hold about the threat of mad cow disease from U.S. beef. He promised that while he could not reinstate the ban on imports, he would ensure that any U.S. beef sold in South Korea would come only from younger cattle deemed to be less at risk of the disease.

U.S. trade officials in Washington said that a compromise is close after recent negotiations, and that what remains is for the representatives of the two countries to consult with their governments and other interested parties. Details are expected to be announced as soon as this weekend.

The popular fears over mad cow disease have in the past six weeks undermined Lee's leadership, paralyzed his government and triggered huge and sometimes violent street protests, while giving rise to a broader discontent that in the past week has spawned a crippling strike by truckers.

"I and my government should have looked at what the people want regarding food safety more carefully," Lee said. "But we failed to do so and now seriously reflect on the failure."

In a nationally televised news conference, Lee shared what he called a "repenting moment." It occurred last week as he watched from his residence as more than 80,000 people gathered in central Seoul for the largest of the beef protests.

"I reproached myself again and again late into the night watching the candlelight vigil," he said.

Protesters have demanded that Lee, who has been in office less than four months, renegotiate a beef deal made in April with the United States as part of a larger free-trade agreement between the two countries. They want a new agreement to stipulate that beef from cattle older than 30 months cannot be imported. Cattle younger than that are regarded as less likely to carry mad cow disease.

Lee said Thursday he could not renegotiate the deal because that might cause serious problems for the Korean economy. Instead, his government has been pursing talks this week in Washington to modify regulations that specify the age of beef for import.

Nevertheless, protesters launched a 48-hour candlelight vigil in downtown Seoul on Friday, and 3,000 people gathered in front of the presidential palace to demand a full renegotiation of the beef deal.