O 030525Z JUL 08
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UNCLAS SEOUL 001337 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/K, EAP/PD, INR/EAP/K AND INR/IL/P 
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USDOC FOR 4430/IEP/OPB/EAP/WGOLICKE 
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STATE PASS DOL/ILAB SUDHA HALEY 
STATE PASS USTR FOR IVES/WEISEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PGOV PREL MARR ECON KS US
SUBJECT: PRESS BULLETIN - July 3, 2008 
 
Opinions/Editorials 
 
¶1. Time for the President to Eat U.S. Beef 
(Chosun Ilbo, July 3, 2008, Page 27) 
¶2. ROK-U.S. Summit; Breach of Diplomatic Protocol 
(Hankook Ilbo, July 3, 2008, Page 35) 
¶3. Repeated U.S. Diplomatic Discourtesy 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, July 3, 2008, Page 31) 
 
 
Features 
 
¶4. Bush to Visit Seoul on Aug. 5-6 
(Chosun Ilbo, July 3, 2008, Page 5) 
¶5. Frequent but Discordant Meetings Put ROK-U.S. Strategic Alliance 
in Awkward Position 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, July 3, 2008, Page 9) 
 
Top Headlines 
 
Chosun Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun, All TVs 
"Emergency Landing" of President Lee Myung-bak's Growth-Oriented 
Economic Policy, Known as MBnomics, Only Four Months after President 
Lee Took Office: Lee Administration Shifts Its Economic Policy 
toward Stabilizing the Economy 
from Boosting Growth 
 
JoongAng Ilbo 
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Nation's Militant Umbrella 
Union, Goes Ahead with Illegal, Political Strike 
to "Strangle the Economy" 
 
Dong-a Ilbo 
Seoul High Court: "If Online Postings are Feared to Defame a Certain 
Person or Violate His or Her Privacy, the Postings 
Can be Deleted without the Victim's Request" 
 
Hankook Ilbo 
"MBnomics" Lowers Economic Growth Outlook 
to 4.7 Percent from 6 Percent 
 
Hankyoreh Shinmun 
MBnomics is in Crisis, But ROKG Only Offers Some Changes, Instead of 
Conducting a Complete Surgical Overhaul 
 
Segye Ilbo 
ROK, U.S. Out of Sync... Lack of Communication? 
 
 
Domestic Developments 
 
¶1. According to a Blue House official, the U.S. has expressed regret 
for unilaterally disclosing President Bush's plan to visit Seoul 
from August 5-6, and the ROKG accepted the explanation on the 
premise that such an incident will not be repeated. (All) 
 
¶2. Chosun Ilbo's inside-page story wondered if President Bush's 
planned visit to Seoul will become a variable in the political 
situation in the ROK. Chosun noted a split in public opinion on the 
visit, citing some as arguing that the visit will provide an 
opportunity to enhance the bilateral alliance and others as saying 
that the visit will serve only to rally support for protesters 
against U.S. beef imports. (Chosun) 
 
¶3. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and 
Inspection Service on July 2, some 241 tons of beef products from an 
approved U.S. exporter to the ROK have been recalled for fear that 
they might be contaminated with the O-157 strain of E. coli. An 
official from the ROK Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and 
Fisheries was quoted as saying that no beef has been imported from 
the products in question since new beef import rules took effect. 
(All) 
 
 
International News 
 
¶1. The Chief U.S. Delegate to the Six-Party Talks, Assistant 
Secretary of State Christopher Hill, said in a July 1 speech 
organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies 
(CSIS) in Washington that the ultimate goal regarding North Korea's 
nuclear declaration is to obtain plutonium from North Korea and take 
it out of the country. (Hankook, Seoul) 
 
¶2. "Movements in U.S. to Keep N. Korea on Terror List:" An 
increasing number of American political leaders oppose President 
Bush's plan to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of 
terrorism. In the latest move, two House Representatives - Brad 
Sherman, chairman of the Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade 
Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Ileana 
Ros-Lehtinen, a ranking Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee 
- submitted a bill to Congress to strengthen requirements for the 
North's removal from the list. (Chosun, Hankyoreh) 
 
 
Media Analysis 
 
¶N. Korea 
Moderate Hankook Ilbo and Seoul Shinmun carried a quote from the 
Chief U.S. Delegate to the Six-Party Talks, Assistant Secretary of 
State Christopher Hill, who said in a July 1 speech organized by the 
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington: 
"The ultimate goal regarding North Korea's nuclear declaration is to 
obtain plutonium from North Korea and take it out of the country." 
 
Conservative Chosun Ilbo and left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun ran 
inside-page reports on movements in the U.S. opposing President 
Bush's plan to remove North Korea from the U.S. list of state 
sponsors of terrorism.  The two papers cited as an example the 
latest submission by two House Representatives - Brad Sherman, 
Chairman of the Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade Subcommittee 
of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, 
a ranking Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee - of a bill to 
Congress to strengthen requirements for the North's removal from the 
list. 
 
President Bush's Visit to Seoul 
The White House's unilateral announcement on Tuesday that President 
Bush will visit Seoul on August 5-6 on his way to the Beijing 
Olympics and its subsequent expression of regret over the incident 
received wide attention.  A Blue House official was widely quoted as 
saying: "The U.S. expressed regret over the unilateral announcement 
while both sides were still discussing when to make a public 
announcement on the visit, and the ROKG has decided to accept the 
explanation on the premise that such an incident will not be 
repeated."  Most newspapers noted that it was the second time that 
the White House has unilaterally released information about 
President Bush's visit (On June 24, the White House also 
unilaterally announced that President Bush would not visit Seoul in 
early July), and called the incident a "breach of diplomatic 
protocol" and "diplomatic discourtesy."  Right-of-center JoongAng 
Ilbo's headline read: "ROK, U.S. Lose Diplomatic Contact," with 
conservative Dong-a Ilbo and Segye Ilbo saying, "ROK, U.S. Once 
Again Out of Sync". Moderate Hankook Ilbo editorialized: "There are 
still some doubts that do not allow us to dismiss the incident as a 
simple mistake.  It is hard to understand that the U.S. repeated a 
similar mistake in less than ten days.  This is why some suspect 
that the incident might a testimony to the U.S.'s displeasure with 
the dispute over U.S. beef imports in the ROK." 
 
Meanwhile, conservative Chosun Ilbo's inside-page story wondered if 
President Bush's planned visit to Seoul will become a variable in 
the political situation in the ROK. Chosun noted a split in public 
opinion on the visit, citing some as arguing that the visit will 
provide an opportunity to enhance the bilateral alliance and others 
as saying that the visit will serve only to rally support for 
protesters against U.S. beef imports. 
 
G8 Summit in Japan 
Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo editorialized: "The ROK is the 13th 
largest economy in the world in terms of GDP.  Accordingly, it is 
unreasonable for the ROK to be excluded from the envisioned G13, 
with Mexico and South Africa, which fall behind the ROK, being 
included.  The ROK's exclusion will inevitably lead to a fall in the 
country's international standing.  The ROKG should first endeavor to 
make the ROK included in the discussion to expand the current G8. 
If it is realistically impossible to remove one of the five new 
economies which are now under consideration for membership of the 
G13 and instead include the ROK, it is conceivable to expand the G8 
to the G15, instead of the G13, to include the ROK, along with 
Australia, the world's 14th largest economy." 
 
 
Opinions/Editorials 
 
Time for the President to Eat U.S. Beef 
(Chosun Ilbo, July 3, 2008, Page 27) 
 
A Seoul butcher has been selling U.S. beef since Tuesday, from 
batches imported but held up last year when inspections were halted 
upon the detection of backbones.  The shop sold out 200 kg of the 
American meat within a few hours, and five staffers were reported to 
have been busy taking telephone inquiries on Wednesday.  Customers 
came by word of mouth.  The shop intends to secure greater 
quantities of U.S. beef. 
 
If one can be infected with mad cow disease by eating American beef, 
as claimed by the television and some Internet media outlets, those 
who bought the meat will risk their lives to eat it.  Who would eat 
beef at the risk of their own life?  No one.  Because they know the 
allegation that U.S. beef equals mad cow disease is false, they buy 
beef with their own money and eat it with their families. 
 
Ninety-six countries including European ones import and eat American 
beef with no restrictions imposed on the age of cattle.  Our 
republic alone has undergone the mad cow disease uproar.  If you 
want to say American beef is really dangerous, you should have 
evidence that even one U.S. cow has suffered BSE or that even one 
American has been infected with the human form of mad cow disease. 
Since the use of powdered meat and bone feed was banned in 1997, 
however, no U.S. cattle have been confirmed to have suffered BSE. 
Every year Americans eat nearly seven million cattle no younger than 
30 months and eat soup made from beef bones like a staple.  None of 
the 300 million Americans has been confirmed to have caught variant 
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), the human form of mad cow disease, 
from eating U.S. beef. 
 
The incompetent and irresponsible Lee Myung-bak administration is 
primarily responsible for the mad cow disease uproar, unprecedented 
in the world.  The government, after taking no steps when 
unimaginable scare stories caused lots of repercussions, hid itself 
behind the riot police after the protests spun out of control. 
 
Prime Minister Han Seung-soo revealed that he bought 12 kg of U.S. 
beef on Tuesday and ate it with his family, including his grandsons. 
 It's natural.  But President Lee, not the premier, should have been 
the first to eat U.S. beef.  The presidential family should be shown 
in public eating not only U.S. beef but also U.S. beef intestines 
and oxtail soup. 
Not just once, but continuously, until the public is completely 
assured of its safety.  The same is the case with Cabinet members. 
Considering our livestock farmers, it's preposterous that the 
president and ministers have to eat U.S. beef, not Korean.  It's 
unavoidable, however.  It's a question staking the trust of the 
entire government. 
 
For sure, people who don't want to eat American beef should be 
assured of not eating it.  For group meals at schools, hospitals and 
barracks, opinion should be collected with priority given to those 
who hate to eat U.S. beef.  And restaurants selling American beef 
disguised as Korean should be deprived of their business licenses 
after even one instance of deception. 
 
* This is the translation provided by a newspaper organization and 
it is identical to the Korean version. 
 
 
ROK-U.S. Summit; Breach of Diplomatic Protocol 
(Hankook Ilbo, July 3, 2008, Page 35) 
 
The U.S. yesterday unilaterally disclosed President Bush's plans to 
visit the ROK in early August to the press.  On June 25, the U.S. 
also caused controversy by announcing the postponement of President 
Bush's visit to Seoul scheduled for early July without prior 
consultations with the ROKG.  The fact that the unilateral 
disclosure by the U.S. happened twice in only ten days makes us feel 
a sense of shame that the U.S. looks down on the ROKG. 
 
A key official at the Blue House said that the schedule was leaked 
by a U.S. official's simple mistake and that the ROKG does not view 
the disclosure as an act of diplomatic discourtesy.  According to 
the official, the Director of Asian Affairs at the National Security 
Council disclosed the schedule of President Bush's visit to Seoul by 
mistake during a press briefing on a summit between President Bush 
and President Lee, which will be held on the sidelines of the G-8 
conference in Japan next week.  If that is true, it is acceptable 
 
for the Blue House to say that it did not view the disclosure as the 
U.S.'s intentional breach of diplomatic protocol.  The U.S. 
reportedly expressed regret through diplomatic channels and the Blue 
House accepted that. 
 
However, there are still some doubts that do not allow us to dismiss 
the disclosure of the schedule as a simple mistake.  When the U.S. 
unilaterally announced the postponement of President Bush's visit to 
Seoul last month, the announcement caused controversy and the ROKG 
expressed regret.  It is hard to understand that the U.S. repeated a 
similar mistake in less than ten days.  This is why some speculated 
that this incident might be the U.S.'s expression of its displeasure 
at the dispute over U.S. beef imports in the ROK.  Recently, the 
Washington Post reported that the White House is no longer impressed 
by the Lee Myung-bak government. 
 
The U.S. might not have made the mistake or the act of discourtesy 
intentionally as the White House and Blue House explained.  However, 
the incident which goes against diplomatic custom cannot happen 
successively without the U.S. belittling the ROKG and the Korean 
people.  The Lee Myung-bak government is responsible for that too. 
If it had tried to be closer to the U.S. with a sense of balance and 
by maintaining a proper level of tension with the U.S., the ROKG 
might not have been treated by the U.S. as of little account.  We 
hope that anything that can undermine the ROK's national pride does 
not happen when a ROK-U.S. summit takes place in August. 
 
 
 
Repeated U.S. Diplomatic Discourtesy 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, July 3, 2008, Page 31) 
 
Yesterday, the White House unilaterally announced President George 
¶W. Bush's visit to the ROK early next month.  A similarly unilateral 
move also came on June 24 when the U.S. announced that President 
Bush will not visit Seoul in July.  These are a series of diplomatic 
discourtesies from Washington.  When it comes to the summit 
schedule, it is customary for the two nations to make the official 
announcement at the same time or for the inviting nation to disclose 
the schedule first. 
 
There must be some reason for this lack of courtesy being repeated 
during the new ROK administration.  First, the ROKG's lack of 
communication skills seems to serve as an obstacle not only at home 
but also in foreign relations.  This view is bolstered by the fact 
that Seoul's relations with Beijing and Tokyo also have turned sour. 
 It is also possible to speculate that the U.S. may be intentionally 
showing a lack of courtesy due to its dissatisfaction with the beef 
controversy.  Washington might think that since the Lee Myung-bak 
administration complicated President Bush's schedule, the U.S. will 
also respond in the same way. 
 
The bigger problem is that the same thing can happen again unless 
the way the ROKG conducts diplomacy is changed.  The ROKG has 
already had its diplomatic standing weakened severely by excessively 
pushing for a strategic alliance with the U.S., the effectiveness 
and adequacy of which have not been verified at all.  It also goes 
against common sense that the government wastes its diplomatic 
resources on the Bush Administration which will leave office in 
several months. This is why this incident should serve as a chance 
to overhaul the ROK's foreign policy completely. 
 
 
Features 
 
Bush to Visit Seoul on Aug. 5-6 
(Chosun Ilbo, July 3, 2008, Page 5) 
 
By Reporter Joo Yong-joong 
 
U.S. President George W. Bush will come to South Korea on Aug. 5-6, 
Cheong Wa Dae announced Wednesday, ending weeks of speculation about 
the date of the impending visit.  "We hope that President Bush's 
upcoming visit will further deepen friendship and trust between the 
two leaders," presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan told reporters. 
"We also expect the summit to serve as an opportunity to reaffirm 
their will to develop with a view to the future the Korea-U.S. 
alliance, which has played a vital role in promoting peace and 
prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia over the 
past 50-odd years." 
 
The spokesman added Bush's visit comes at the invitation of 
President Lee Myung-bak during their Camp David summit in April. 
Lee and Bush are also expected to meet on the sidelines of the G8 
conference in Japan next week, offering them a chance for two 
summits in a month. 
 
The two countries had been considering a visit before or after the 
G8 summit but shelved the idea, reportedly because they worried a 
visit before street protests against the import of U.S. beef have 
subsided could worsen the protests and have an adverse effect on the 
two countries' relations.  As speculation and denials flew back and 
forth, some worried that a warning light was flickering in the 
bilateral alliance, putting the two countries in an awkward position 
whether Bush came or not.  Ignoring diplomatic protocol that 
requires two countries to consult on and announce summits 
simultaneously, the White House upset Korea twice by making a 
unilateral announcement to the press. 
 
On June 24, the White House announced that Bush would not visit 
Seoul in early July.  And on Tuesday, Dennis Wilder, the Asian 
Affairs Director at the White House's National Security Council, 
told reporters Bush would now drop in at Seoul on his way to the 
Beijing Olympics in August.  The White House apologized and the two 
countries hurriedly made the official announcement. 
 
Despite those hiccups, Lee and Bush have agreed to meet twice in one 
month because repairs to the Korea-U.S. alliance are urgent for the 
conservative governments of both countries.  The question is whether 
Bush's visit will play into the hands of protesters who seem 
determined to maintain the atmosphere for demonstrations as long as 
possible, or allow the two countries to consolidate the alliance by 
overcoming the anti-U.S. beef sentiment in Korea. 
 
That is only one hairy item on the agenda, on top of the troubles 
both leaders have to persuade their parliaments to ratify the 
Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. 
 
Other tricky issues include how to share the upkeep of U.S. Forces 
Korea, pay for the environmental cleanup caused by the relocation of 
U.S. military bases here, and act in concert in solving the North 
Korean nuclear issue by overcoming the North's maneuvering to bypass 
South Korea and deal directly with the U.S. 
 
Meeting in April, Lee and Bush agreed to upgrade ties to a 
"strategic alliance" and put forth their vision for it at their next 
summit.  The future of the ongoing protests here will depend on how 
substantially the two leaders can solve such issues at what looks 
like yet another critical juncture in the alliance. 
 
* This is the translation provided by a newspaper organization and 
it is identical to the Korean version. 
 
 
Frequent but Discordant Meetings Put ROK-U.S. Strategic Alliance in 
Awkward Position 
(Hankyoreh Shinmun, July 3, 2008, Page 9) 
 
By Reporter Lee Je-hoon 
 
The ins and outs of President Bush's August visit 
 
Due to diplomatic discourtesy, the general view that three summits 
in four months mean close bilateral ties does not apply to ROK-U.S. 
relations. 
 
An ROKG official is doubtful that the two nations will adopt a 
future vision of their strategic alliance at the August summit. 
 
Camp David, April 19 --> Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan, July 9 --> Seoul, 
August 5 
 
This is the schedule of summits for President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. 
President George W. Bush.  It is unprecedented for the leaders of 
both nations to meet three times in four months.  From a diplomatic 
point of view, frequent meetings usually mean close bilateral 
relations. 
 
However, recent discord over the ROK-U.S. summit defies this 
diplomatic interpretation.  First of all, there were many 
protocol-related problems.  The cancellation of President Bush's 
return visit to the ROK in July, which was agreed upon during the 
April summit, and his new plan to visit Seoul in August were 
disclosed to the press by the White House, which unilaterally made 
the announcements without prior consultations with the ROK.  This is 
a "serious situation." 
 
Furthermore, it is also doubtful whether the two leaders will have 
substantial discussions at the summit.  In reference to President 
Bush's return visit in August, a high-ranking ROKG official said on 
July 2, "Thus far, we have not been well prepared (for the summit) 
due to the beef controversy.  From now on, we have to speed up our 
preparations (for President Bush's return visit in August.)"  This 
indicates that it is customary for diplomatic authorities to prepare 
the "outcome" of a summit through long consultations ahead of a 
summit, but this time, it has not been going smoothly. 
 
In fact, President Bush's return visit in August was announced after 
the ROK-U.S. summit scheduled for July 10 in Seoul had been 
postponed, and it was scheduled on June 28 when Foreign Minister Yu 
Myung-hwan met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.  At 
that time, Seoul reportedly made a request to the U.S. that 
President Bush should visit the ROK when he heads to Northeast Asia 
to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. 
 
The July 9 summit between Presidents Lee and Bush in Toyako, 
Hokkaido, is an informal one on the sidelines of the G8 summit. 
Since that summit is not expected to last more than an hour, it will 
be difficult for the two leaders to have substantive discussions. 
During the summit meeting, they are expected to "strengthen their 
commitment" toward a strategic alliance and the ratification of the 
free trade agreement. 
 
The focus of the ROK-U.S. summit in Seoul on August 5 is whether or 
not they can adopt a future vision of the ROK-U.S. Strategic 
Alliance for the 21st century.  When the two nations agreed in 
principle to elevate ROK-U.S. relations into a "strategic alliance" 
at the April summit, they decided to announce the future vision for 
the alliance during President Bush's return visit to Seoul.  Blue 
House spokesman Lee Dong-kwan also said on July 2, "They will 
discuss ways to develop the ROK-U.S. alliance into a strategic 
alliance."  However, a key government official retorted, "Given the 
current political situation, I am doubtful whether they will be able 
to adopt a future vision of the strategic alliance at the August 
summit."  He indicated that although they will have discussions, it 
will be difficult to reach a "conclusion."  In other words, 
considering the current situation facing the ROKG and recent 
developments in ROK-U.S. ties, bilateral relations are not stable 
enough to adopt a strategic long-term vision of the alliance. 
 
 
Vershbow