SOUTH KOREA:SOUTH KOREA'S beleaguered President Lee Myung-bak has promised a "fresh start" for the country after massive protests prompted the whole cabinet to offer their resignations.
Mr Lee is less than four months into his presidency and is struggling to shore up support for his fledgling conservative government after tens of thousands of demonstrators packed the streets of Seoul to oppose the resumption of US beef imports - the focus for broader unhappiness with his administration.
"The government is determined to make a fresh start," Mr Lee told leading members of the business community and government officials, adding that he was pleased the rallies passed peacefully.
Police used 40ft shipping containers to block the road to Mr Lee's offices, while protesters set up tents with red and green stickers saying "Lee Myung Bak Out" outside city hall.
South Korea is one of Asia's few successful democracies and an amazing economic success story. While the demonstrations have caused concern, most analysts believe the current crisis will not destabilise Asia's fourth largest economy in any fundamental way.
Mr Lee is expected to reshuffle his cabinet. A former building industry boss known as "Bulldozer", Mr Lee won the November election for his commitment to radical change and economic revival in South Korea and was sworn in in March.
However, his first 100 days have been dogged by protest and difficulties.
The conservative Chosun Ilbo newspaper said the rally looked like "some kind of revolution" was taking place, and blamed Mr Lee's government for failing to take the wishes of the people into account when it agreed to resume the import of US beef imports, despite fears that US beef carries a risk of the human form of mad cow disease - a theory firmly denied by Seoul and Washington.
He agreed to lift the ban on US beef to win support from American lawmakers for a wider free trade accord, but the public backlash at the bilateral trade decision cut his approval rating by half.
Mr Lee is a former senior executive of the construction division of Hyundai, one of the big corporations, or chaebols (large family-controlled conglomerates), which many consider the real powerbrokers in the world's 13th-largest economy.
The newspaper also accused the government of alienating the people by giving "jobs for the boys" in top government positions. There is a feeling that Mr Lee is too close to the big corporations and has alienated trade unions.
One potential candidate for prime minister is Park Geun Hye, daughter of former president Park Chung Hee, and Lee's rival in his party's nomination contest last year. Her father took power in a 1961 coup and ruled until his assassination in 1979.
