By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: June 30, 2008
SEOUL, South Korea — The police on Monday raided the offices of two civic groups accused of leading weeks of protests against American beef imports. The raids followed government warnings that it would get tough on the demonstrations.

One of the civic groups, the Korea Solidarity for Progressive Movement, said the police confiscated 22 desktop computers and a box-load of documents from its office early Monday morning. Hwang Soon-won, a civic group leader, was taken away for questioning.

Shortly afterward, police officers barged into the office of another civic group dedicated to fighting the government’s agreement to lift a five-year-old ban on importing American beef despite public concerns that the meat may not be safe from mad cow disease. Computers, placards and banners used during the protests were seized.

The police said the raids were necessary to collect evidence of illegal street demonstrations, which President Lee Myung-bak said he would no longer tolerate. The two civic groups issued statements accusing the Lee government of reverting to “dictatorship.”

Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han said on Sunday, “We will chase those who instigate violent protests and those who use violence to the end and bring them to justice.”.

Mr. Kim warned that the police would use liquid tear gas, which they have refrained from using in the past decade. They commonly used liquid tear gas against antigovernment demonstrators during the military dictatorships of the 1970s and ‘80s and against labor activists of the 1990s.

On Sunday evening the police sealed off major rallying points in central Seoul after hundreds of police officers and members of the public were injured during a beef import protest that began Saturday evening and continued into Sunday morning.

Police buses cordoned off plazas and intersections where large crowds have gathered almost daily since early May to demand that the government renegotiate the deal that was reached in April. Police officers blocked subway entrances and alleys leading to those rallying points.

Still, protesters broke into several groups of hundreds and marched Sunday evening, engaging in sporadic shoving matches with the police. The police detained more than 100 protesters for questioning.

The Korean Metal Workers’ Union, which represents workers at 240 companies, including the country’s four major automakers, said 76 percent of its voting members had agreed to a two-hour work stoppage on Wednesday to demand a new beef deal and better working conditions.

The Catholic Priests’ Association for Justice, an influential religious group known for its struggle against the dictatorships, said it would lead an outdoor Mass on Monday to lend its moral support to the protesters.

A protest Saturday night attracted more than 18,000 people, the largest crowd since a rally on June 10 brought together at least 100,000 people.

Police officials said 112 officers had been injured and 35 police vehicles had been damaged. About 50 protesters were detained on charges of assaulting police officers, they said.

Protest organizers said that 300 to 400 people had been hurt “because of police brutality.”

In April, South Korea agreed to lift the ban on American beef, imposed in 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was detected in the United States. Officials in Seoul persuaded the United States this month to revise the terms of the April agreement to placate the protesters.

But the protests continued, dashing Mr. Lee’s hopes for an early end to what has become the biggest political crisis of his four-month-old government