ID :
36415
Fri, 12/19/2008 - 05:38
Auther :

Korea-U.S. FTA tabled in parliament amid partisan collision

By Shin Hae-in

SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- Hammers, fire extinguishers and fists flew in the South Korean parliament on Thursday, but they were not enough to stop the ruling party from introducing a free trade pact with Washington to the legislative agenda.

Determined to ratify the controversial South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement
(KORUS FTA) before the end of this year, the conservative Grand National Party
(GNP) physically barred opposition lawmakers from a committee room and put the
motion before parliament. The trade deal has been sitting idle in the
legislatures of the two countries since June last year.
"We have managed today to pave the way for this critical deal," GNP floor leader
Hong Joon-pyo said. "It will be ratified by the end of the year. There will be no
further delay."
Scores of lawmakers from the largest opposition Democratic Party and the minority
Democratic Labor Party scuffled for hours with security officials, who had been
guarding the hall since Wednesday.
"No FTA for the country!" "No dictatorship in the parliament!" opposition
legislators called out, shaking their fists in the air at the National Assembly.
As security officials, mobilized by President Lee Myung-bak's GNP, continued to
bar them from entering the committee room, some lawmakers used hammers and
chisels to tear the back door down. They still could not enter, however, as a
fire extinguisher blast broke up the scuffling. No one was seriously hurt.
"The law has been ignored and the Constitution has been trampled down by
violence," GNP lawmaker Park Jin, who heads the parliamentary committee on trade,
said before putting the motion up for vote Thursday.
Only 10 out of 29 committee members were present and voted in favor of paving the
way for early ratification of the FTA in the absence of opposition party members.

The timing of the legislature's FTA approval has turned into a source of intense
political dispute here, especially after Democrat Barack Obama, who is critical
of the FTA, won the U.S. presidential election last month.
While the conservative ruling party wants immediate ratification to bolster the
government's market-oriented economic initiatives, opposition parties say South
Korea should take more time and observe the changes in the U.S. Congress.
President Lee's party controls an absolute majority of 172 seats in the
299-member parliament, enough to approve the bilateral deal without opposition
party legislators.
The party's floor leader on Thursday asked members not to leave the country this
month to ensure they are on hand for voting. The GNP plans to put the FTA will be
put to a final vote at the full parliamentary session this month.
The main opposition, holding 83 seats, accused its rival of disavowing democracy
and threatened to take their protest to the streets with civic groups, who call
the deal unfair. The party has been boycotting Assembly sessions since Monday.
"The ruling party has declared war on the people of the Republic of Korea," the
liberal party said in a statement. "Today's vote is invalid, and we will fight
against it using every possible means."
The KORUS FTA, struck between then South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and his
counterpart, George W. Bush, is the single biggest trade pact between the two
longtime allies. It is expected to boost two-way trade, which totaled US$79
billion in 2007, 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 for South Korean exporters of manufactured
goods in 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.
Obama is fundamentally pro-free trade, but views the deal with South Korea as
flawed, especially in the auto trade sector.

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