S. Korean, U.S. biz leaders to urge prompt FTA ratification

SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korean business leaders plans to urge the U.S.
and Seoul to work for an early ratification of a free trade agreement (FTA)
between the two nations in a meeting with American counterparts, a business lobby
group said Thursday.

Cho Suck-rai, chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), will meet on
Feb. 5-6 with U.S. business representatives including William Phodes, chairman of
Citibank, in a preparatory meeting of the annual Korea-U.S. Business Council, the
group said.
In the gathering in Los Angeles, California, business leaders of the two
countries plan to call on their respective governments to push for prompt
parliamentary ratification of the pending FTA, the FKI said.
The Korean party also includes Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Korean Airlines Co. and
Lee Yoon-woo, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co., according to the
federation.
Representatives of both countries' trade negotiation, Wendy Cutler and Lee
Hye-min will be also present in the meeting to update latest development on the
bilateral trade deal.
The leaders plans to invite Edward Royce, a congressman who co-chairs the
Congressional Caucus on Korea, a forum for Korean issues, in order to muster
support for the ratification, the FKI said.
Signed in 2007, the trade deal, dubbed the KORUS FTA, is pending in the U.S
Congress and the National Assembly here due to political opposition.
The Korea-U.S. Business Council, hosted by the FKI and the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, is scheduled to hold its plenary meeting in July.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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