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South Koreans protest IMF deal
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Copyright ) 1997 Nando.net
Copyright ) 1997 The Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea (December 13, 1997 9:12 p.m. EST
http://www.nando.net) -- Pumping clenched fists into an overcast sky,
2,000 students and workers demonstrated against South Korea's economic
bailout deal Saturday, saying it will only inflict more suffering on the
nation.
"We oppose IMF trusteeship! Abolish the IMF agreement!" the protesters
chanted.
Saturday's rally -- held in downtown Seoul's bustling Myongdong
commercial district -- was the first major protest since South Korea
signed a record-breaking $57 billion bailout agreement with the
International Monetary Fund on Dec. 3.
Hundreds of black-helmeted riot police with shields stood guard over the
crowd, while labor songs blared from loudspeakers mounted on a minivan.
No clashes or arrests were reported.
The protest highlighted the challenges facing the winner of next
Thursday's presidential election, being held at a time of acute economic
crisis. The bailout mandates belt-tightening that is expected to push up
unemployment, taxes and prices.
"The government and rich company owners ruined the economy, and now they
tell us to take all the pain. We never will!" one labor leader shouted.
"Fight! Fight!" the protesters chanted, sitting on pavement wet from
melting snow. Some carried signs that read: "Arrest (President) Kim
Young-sam for Ruining the Economy."
They promised to stage a bigger protest Sunday.
Earlier Saturday, Kim and the nation's three key presidential candidates
reaffirmed support for the IMF bailout.
"We will do our best to boost international confidence by honoring the
terms of the agreement," a joint statement from the four men said.
South Korea's economy has further deteriorated since the deal was
announced, with currency and share prices continuing to fall and foreign
lenders reportedly refusing to roll over their loans.
Fears that South Korea may renege on the promises it made to the IMF
have eroded investor confidence. Those fears escalated when two leading
presidential candidates said they would renegotiate the bailout
conditions if elected, in an apparent attempt to translate popular
dismay into votes.
Both of them backed down Friday and pledged full support.
Most Korean economists agree the IMF mandates are bitter but necessary
to rescuing the failing economy. But many Koreans who have painful
memories of foreign intervention consider the bailout humiliating and
too harsh.
"It is a totally justifiable reaction on the part of the Korean people
to suspect that the IMF bailout was used as a golden opportunity for the
U.S. and Japan to push their own agenda onto a Korea on its knees," said
a statement Saturday from the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice,
an influential civic group.
The demonstrators suggested South Korea should refuse to pay its foreign
debt to protest the accord.
Analysts say more than $100 billion in foreign loans will come due
within a year. Of that, between $16.5 billion and $20 billion in foreign
debts will come due in the next 2 1/2 weeks. As of Thursday, the country
only had $10 billion in usable foreign reserves, down sharply from $22.3
billion at the end of October.
-- By SANG-HUN CHOE, The Associated Press
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