Anti-Lee Myung-bak Protest in Washington, DC

During the heydays of military dictatorships and authoritarian regimes of South Korea, the Korean embassy in Washington, DC drew steady demonstrations calling for democracy. Now the protests have reappeared, afre many years of absence, as protesters denounced current policies of Pres. Lee Myung-bak on many fronts: 1) erosion of democratic gains by suppressing dissent and public expression; 2) economic slide with deteriorating public welfare and increasing inequities; 3) environmental destruction brought about by the massive "four river project"; 4) mishandling of livestocks' foot-and-mouth disease; and 5) worsening relations with North Korea by negating previous gains on inter-Korea cooperation. The protesters have demanded Lee's resignation and vowed a 100-day relay protest.