hankyoreh

Liberty Forward and Democratic Labor Parties announce the launch of a non-partisan group that opposes the ruling Grand National Party’s push toward hasty ratification of the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement at the National Assembly on November 13.

Opposition members of the National Assembly formed what they are calling the “Emergency Congress of National Assembly Members Opposed to a Hasty Ratification of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement” November 13.

Opposition parliamentarians are telling the Lee Myung-bak administration and ruling Grand National Party that they need to withdraw their decision to push for an “early ratification” of the FTA and be prepared to “renegotiate” the agreement.

The 37-member group is composed of 24 members of the Democratic Party -- including Chun Jung-bae, Park Jie-won and Park Joo-sun -- all six members of the Liberty Forward Party and all five members of the Democratic Labor Party, in addition to two Independent members. Members of the Creative Korea Party say they will decide whether to join the group after determining what their party’s policy is going to be. Lew Seon-oh and Choi In-kee of the Democratic Party, Kim Nak-sung of the Liberty Forward Party and Kang Ki-kab of the Democratic Labor will hold the group’s joint chairmanship.

In a press release, the legislators said, “the 18th National Assembly has no plan in place to adequately review (the FTA) and there has been no consideration for the new situation we have in the form of the global financial crisis, and because of this we are concerned about a ‘hasty ratification.’ We are going to go beyond our own parties to block a hasty ratification” vote.

The group is specifically calling on the administration and the GNP to withdraw plans to deliberately move to ratify the agreement before the United States does, for “responsible verification procedures” on the part of the National Assembly; and that the ruling camp develop a strategy for dealing with a “changed situation,” one that includes renegotiating the deal. Members also called for the passage of a “trade procedures law.”

The Emergency Congress also agreed to form a special National Assembly committee to review the FTA document and formulate plans to help industries that might go bankrupt as a result of the deal, to hold hearings on the matter in the relevant Assembly standing committees and form a “private sector advisory group.” It will hold a “debate by experts” in the National Assembly members’ office building on November 21 and look for ways to work with the American Democratic Party, which is negative about the U.S.-Korea FTA, by visiting the United States.

Democrat Lee Seon-oh said that Korea “needs a renegotiation strategy” so that “we can get rid of the harmful clauses if the U.S. decides it wants to renegotiate.”

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