South Korea's embattled president apologised on Thursday for a US beef import deal that sparked mass street protests and said he will sack close aides but analysts said that might not be enough to reverse a slide in public support.
Lee Myung-bak, who easily won December's election with pledges of pro-business reforms and growth for the world's 13th largest economy, now has an approval rating of less than 20 percent. He said he wanted to start a new chapter for his four-month-old government.
"As I sat up on a hill in the dark watching the lines of candles filling the city streets, I faulted myself for not ensuring the comfort of the people," Lee said in a televised speech, referring to more than a month of candle-lit rallies. "I will make it a top priority to stabilise prices and look after the lives of the working people," Lee said.
The April beef deal with the United States was meant to help a separate bilateral free-trade accord that US congressional leaders threatened to block unless South Korea opened up its market to beef imports. But widespread concern over mad-cow disease in US beef quickly turned the issue into a lightning rod for a broad range of grievances against Lee's government that the public increasingly sees as out of touch with its concerns.
Apart from protests, thousands of truck drivers have been on strike, costing big exporting firms billions of dollars. "No matter how urgent a national agenda it was, we should have paid attention to what the people wanted and how they will accept it. My government and I painfully regret this," Lee said.
Analysts said they expect large parts of Lee's reforms, which include privatising state firms, tax cuts for companies and mortgage relief for low-income households, to be stalled unless he can win back public support. Hundreds of the 13,000 striking South Korean truckers, whose protest has paralysed ports, reached deals with employers and returned to work on Thursday, easing the pressure on Lee.
The truckers, who walked off work because of soaring fuel costs, reached tentative deals with firms including steelmakers POSCO and Hyundai Steel for higher pay, the transport ministry said.