South Korean politics is nothing if not volatile. Within months of taking power after a convincing election victory, President Lee Myung-bak is mired in a severe political crisis triggered by – of all things – imports of US beef.

Mr Lee, a former senior executive for the Hyundai conglomerate, was welcomed as a decision-maker (nicknamed “the Bulldozer”) who would champion economic reforms and be tough on North Korea. Above all, he was different from his predecessor, the left-leaning and seemingly hapless Roh Moo-hyun.