US election could affect S. Korean bid to approve FTA early: lawmaker

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- The outcome of the coming U.S. presidential election may force the ruling South Korean party to change its plan to push for the early ratification of a free trade deal with Washington, a ranking lawmaker said Monday.

The Grand National Party, which has an absolute majority of 172 seats in the
299-member National Assembly, has been seeking to approve the deal with the
United States by year's end.
The agreement has been pending with both legislatures for over a year, and trade
experts warn that if Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who has
opposed the deal, wins the U.S. election this week, chances of ratification may
be smaller in the Democrat-controlled legislature in Washington. Obama leads his
Republican rival John McCain in polls by several percentage points ahead of the
Tuesday vote (U.S. time).
"Obama has stated his opposition to the FTA on many occasions, so we should take
this into consideration," Chung Mong-joon, a Supreme Council member, said at a
party meeting.
"It's unquestionable how important the free trade agreement is," Chung said. But
the five-term legislator added his party still needs to "re-examine the timing"
to press for its ratification.
The Seoul-Washington trade pact has been billed as the most significant event in
bilateral ties since the 1953 military accord. It is expected to boost two-way
trade, already worth an annual US$79 billion, by as much as $20 billion in the
coming years.
Business groups here want early ratification of the agreement, complaining that
the delay is causing heavy losses to South Korean exporters of manufactured goods
to the world's biggest market.
Farmers, however, are demanding sufficient compensation and countermeasures,
fearing they will not be able to compete with cheaper imported products once the
deal is finalized.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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