Free trade deal likely to be source of debate in presidential race

Posted on : 2007-04-02 18:30 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST

The political community appeared split over the free trade agreement struck Monday with the United States, predicting the landmark deal will be a source of partisan wrangling ahead of December's presidential election.

The deal was initially expected to gain parliamentary ratification easily, with the majority of lawmakers from the two largest political parties -- the conservative opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and the pro-government Uri Party, supporting the agreement.

However, with voices of opposition to the trade accord growing and the presidential voting drawing closer, the two parties took a step back from their earlier backing, and said they would first review the accord before deciding whether to ratify it.

"We'll closely examine whether specifics of the accord will benefit the national interests, and if the government has worked out measures for sectors expected to be damaged by the deal," said Yoo Ki-june, a spokesman for the GNP, after South Korea and the U.S. announced that a deal was reached.

The Uri Party issued a similar statement, in which it urged the government to disclose all details on the negotiations with the U.S., saying the deal should undergo a thorough public review.

The trade deal is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly in September after being signed by the presidents of the two countries.

Analysts say it is unlikely the pact will be ratified before the December election, as political parties and politicians cannot risk either explicitly supporting or rejecting the deal, which would cause them to lose votes from some specific interest groups.

Some even say the deal will be eventually voted at the National Assembly after the parliamentary elections, set for April 2008.

After South Korea agreed on an FTA with Chile in late 2002, scores of lawmakers with constituencies in rural farming areas took physical action to prevent the accord from being put to a floor vote.

As a result, a parliamentary plenary session was disrupted several times and it took about 16 months for parliament to ratify the trade accord.

Small opposition parties, including the progressive Democratic Labor Party, pledged to kill the accord.

"I'll declare the deal invalid and launch campaigns disobeying the FTA," said Moon Sung-hyun, chairman of the labor party, who has been on a hunger strike for more than three weeks. "I can't accept President Roh as our president of this country any longer."

The FTA also showed signs of losing favor with members of both the GNP and the Uri parties, meaning lawmakers will cast ballots according to their own beliefs, not along party lines, thus casting uncertainty onto the deal.

GNP lawmakers with constituencies in rural farming areas have already taken steps toward rejecting the trade deal. Presidential aspirants of the Uri Party have also opposed it in what appears to be an effort to distance themselves from President Roh, whose popularity has plummeted amid economic woes and the protracted North Korean nuclear tension.

Monday's agreement was struck following about 10 months of tough negotiations, which have been dogged by frequent protests by farmers, workers and activists on both sides.

Proponents say the deal could boost bilateral trade by 20 percent from the current $72 billion a year, while critics say it will eventually devastate the livelihoods of farmers and workers, citing a government study predicting an onslaught of cheaper U.S.

products will cost 130,000 jobs and up to 2 trillion won (US$2.1 billion) in sales in South Korea.
Seoul, April 2 (Yonhap News)

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