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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - BUSINESS and restaurant owners in the South Korean capital hit back Thursday after weeks of street protests, filing a 1.8 billion won (S$2.45 million dollar) lawsuit against organisers for lost business.
The 120-strong group claimed in the suit that the government should also be held responsible for failing to stop the protests.
The plaintiffs, mostly restaurant owners in downtown Seoul, said they had suffered a serious drop in business due to the sometimes violent protests against US beef imports and other issues.
'This damages suit will send a clear message to the rally organisers: You have the right to hold demonstrations but also the obligation to pay for whatever damage you bring to others', Mr Lee Hun, the group's lawyer, told AFP.
A similar suit was filed by another group of 115 business owners last week, seeking 1.7 billion won in damages.
Tens of thousands began demonstrating in early May against the planned resumption of US beef imports, which sparked fears of mad cow disease. Carrying candles, they took to the streets of downtown Seoul.
The protests sometimes turned violent, with demonstrators wielding steel pipes and damaging police buses and riot police using water cannon.
The mass protests have largely ended since the government secured extra health safeguards from Washington, and US beef is currently on sale.
Even though the mass rallies have fizzled out, hardcore beef protesters continue to campaign but on a much smaller scale.
Police on Thursday began a hunt for three leaders of the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Union which has been among those spearheading the protests. -- AFP
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