Lee Pushes Assembly for Quick FTA Approval

President Lee Myung-bak called on the National Assembly to quickly approve the free trade pact with the U.S. so as not to miss a chance of which “the world is envious.”

“In the U.S. Congress, some lawmakers, even if they were opposed to the Korea-U.S. FTA, worked actively in moving the ratification process forward and therefore, the process was able to be finalized swiftly,” Lee told his Cabinet Monday, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha.

“As the world is envious of the Korea-U.S. FTA, we should not miss this chance,” Lee said, asking Cabinet ministers to persuade opposition lawmakers that the pact will not only benefit major Korean chaebol but also smaller firms.

Lee is expected to make the same appeal when he meets with parliamentary leaders later in the day.

The deal was signed by the leaders of the two nations in 2007 but modified last year to address U.S. concern about the impact on what was then its ailing auto industry. S. Korea’s opposition Democratic Party has held up the bill in the parliamentary trade committee on the ground that it is lopsided in favor of U.S. industries and requires renegotiation.

Even if the pact were to pass the National Assembly, a set of 14 related measures must win approval before the FTA can be implemented in S. Korea. The U.S. and S. Korea aim to have it take effect next January.