By Jon Herskovitz
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean police said they expectabout 35,000 to gather on Saturday for a protest against a U.S.beef import deal and the polices of the new president, whosegovernment has faced a crisis due to the weeks of streetrallies.
Polls show that most South Koreans oppose a deal PresidentLee Myung-bak struck in April to open the market to U.S. beefbut about two-thirds of respondents say it is also time to haltthe rallies that have grown more violent in recent weeks.
Protest organisers, which include civic groups, religiousleaders and a militant labour group that has taken part in someof the most violent street clashes in the country's history,said they expect hundreds of thousands to attend.
The protests began in early May by people worried aboutpossible mad cow disease in U.S. beef but later grew into aforum where a wide variety of people gathered to air theirgrievances against Lee, who won a December election by alandslide.
Lee has seen his support rate plummet and analysts said hecannot implement reforms such as privatising state-run firmsand revamping pension systems unless he can win back thepublic.
Rallies last weekend left hundreds of protesters andconscripted riot policemen injured, prompting religious leadersto join the rallies in the hopes of calming things down.
South Korean and U.S. trade envoys reworked the beef dealin June with a private-sector agreement that limits trade inbeef to cattle under 30 months of age, thought to pose a lowrisk for mad cow disease, and prohibits shipments of riskyparts.
U.S. and South Korean leaders have said there is noscientific evidence that shows the U.S. beef headed to SouthKorea poses a risk for the brain-wasting disease.
U.S. beef returned this week to store shelves in SouthKorea, once the third-largest overseas market for the productwith sales of about $850 million (429 million pounds) beforeSeoul banned sales in 2003 due to an outbreak of mad cowdisease in the United States.
Major retailers refused to sell the product out of fear ofantagonising angry Koreans, but a few independent butchers whooffered U.S. beef quickly sold out of stocks with patronslining up to buy a product that sells for at least half theprice of Korean beef.
(Additional reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by JeremyLaurence)
