South Korean Politics and Elections

National Assembly hearing heralds tough road ahead for FTA

Hankyoreh, April 4, 2007

South Korean legislators voiced differing positions on their country's free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States Wednesday, portending a tough road ahead for the deal that faces a parliamentary vote for approval. The National Assembly Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee hearing attended by the country's top free trade negotiators also indicated the rapidly changing political landscape for President Roh Moo-hyun, who suddenly gained support from his conservative foes and lost ground with his liberal allies.

In a rare move, many lawmakers of the Grand National Party (GNP) gave big compliments to the president who has been called a "leftist," "incompetent" and "really bad" by the conservative party.

Rep. Kim Yong-kap, one of the harshest critics of Roh, said he was "deeply moved."

"I'd like to give a high evaluation of President Roh Moo-hyun's decision," he said, "I ask President Roh to keep his political involvement as little as possible during his remaining term of office and make all his efforts on the FTA issue."

Rep. Lee Hae-bong agreed, "I've known the president to be closed off and obsessive, but during the process of the FTA I saw him taking it seriously. My regret is that he could have become a people's president if he had shown this kind of quality earlier."

Opponents, however, continued violent protests even after the deal was reached Monday, vowing to prevent the National Assembly from ratifying the deal which they said threatens the livelihoods of farmers and laborers with a flood of cheap products from the United States.

An angry farmer went on an indiscriminate shooting spree on Tuesday night, killing one person and injuring several others. It followed a self-immolation attempt over the weekend by a taxi driver who was still in critical condition Wednesday.

Several loyalists of Roh, including Rep. Kim Geun-tae, former chairman of the pro-government Uri Party, continued their protest against the trade deal, and independent lawmaker Im Jong-in was fasting for the ninth straight day.

In the assembly hearing, many lawmakers raised the issue of the Kaesong industrial complex, a reconciliatory project between the Koreas. Seoul wanted to have the FTA recognize goods produced in the complex in North Korea as made in South Korea, while Washington was against it. But the U.S. made a last-minute concession.

Under the deal, the two sides did not specifically mention Kaesong but pledged to establish a "committee on outward processing zones on the Korean Peninsula," which cleared the way for the inclusion of products from the complex in the free trade deal, Seoul's chief negotiator, Kim Jong-hoon, said.

Rep. Chung Eui-yong of the Uri Party questioned if there was any risk that the Kaesong issue might be turned down in the U.S. legislature, saying that he had been warned by some U.S. legislators that Kaesong was a "non-starter" that shouldn't even be brought up in the negotiations.

"It's true that the U.S. had difficulty with the outward processing zone issue," Kim said, "But with the recent process in U.S.-North Korea relations and North Korea's change in the six-party talks, I assume that these positive steps have provided ground for Washington to shift its stance."

Emotions ran high in the hearing, with Rep. Choi Sung of the Uri Party saying the trade deal poses a particular danger to the livelihoods of citizens like cattle and tangerine farmers.

As Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong explained how much efforts his junior officials had made to reach the deal, Choi said, "There's a taxi driver who set himself on fire, and farmers who have seen this negotiation process as a matter of life or death."

With the parliament expected to vote in September or October on the fate of the country's biggest trade deal, a group of 51 lawmakers from the 296-member assembly has already declared its opposition.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on Tuesday that the full text of the trade agreement will be released in May when Seoul and Washington are expected to complete its wording.

Some legislators of the parliament committee called for a fresh hearing to verify the closed-door deal. "My proposal is so in principle -- let us hold a hearing, which is basic and necessary for this kind of negotiations that put the nation's interest at stake," Rep. Kwon Young-ghil of the progressive Democratic Labor Party said.

With other lawmakers reluctant to comply, the committee chairman, Rep. Kim Won-wung of the Uri Party, put the hearing issue to further discussion among political parties.

Seoul, April 4 (Yonhap News)

Lawmaker quits Uri, starting off possible exodus

Korea Herald, January 23, 2007

Rep. Im Jong-in, a first-term lawmaker, resigned from the Uri Party yesterday in what political observers see as the start of a series of high-profile defections from the governing party in the run-up to the December presidential election.

His departure fueled speculation that other separatists will follow suit in their attempt to form political alliances to confront the opposition Grand National Party in the race.

Im, an outspoken progressive left winger, is the first lawmaker to desert the embattled party.

Announcing his resignation, he slammed the Uri Party for losing its liberal identity and pursuing conservative policies.

"I defected from the Uri Party today. The Uri Party, which has become conservative, cannot represent its supporters - ordinary and middle-class citizens," he said at a news conference.

Uri factions seek to patch up feud

Korea Herald, January 24, 2007

In a major turnaround, President Roh Moo-hyun loyalists in the governing Uri Party yesterday decided not to block the party leadership's move to revamp its membership rules.

They said they do not want to take the blame for a possible mass defection of party members if the revision plan falters.

Their concession may slow the pace of an exodus, but it is unlikely to deter some lawmakers from leaving a party hamstrung by its falling popularity less than a year before the presidential election.

Chung Dong-young, former party leader and the party's largest stakeholder, warned of a mass walkout if the amendment proposal fails to gain approval from the central committee in the face of opposition from pro-Roh lawmakers.

"If the plan is scuttled in the central committee by the isolationist minority and reformist adventurists, many people including me have no choice but to make this decision," Chung told reporters on Saturday.

S. Korea should not pay for U.S. soldiers' misdeeds: lawmaker

The Hankyoreh (via Yonhap), October 30, 2006

A status of forces agreement between Seoul and Washington has resulted in South Korea being unfairly forced to pay for the misdeeds of U.S. soldiers, a South Korean lawmaker said Monday.

About 30,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), agreed in 1967 between Seoul and Washington to govern U.S. soldiers here, stipulates that South Korea's treasury should pay for a quarter of the cost of legal violations by on-duty U.S. soldiers.

"For the past three years, South Korea has paid 1.6 billion won (US$1.6 million) for some 1,200 violations solely attributable to U.S. soldiers," Rep. Im Jong-in of the ruling Uri Party said in a statement, quoting a report from the Ministry of Justice. The breaches include mostly traffic violations and outbursts of violence, Im's aide said.

"Clause 23 of SOFA, which requires us to pay for 25 percent of the legal breaches by U.S. military personnel while on duty, should be removed," Im said, calling the agreement "unfair."

The SOFA has been amended twice already. South Korean activists argue the agreement is an unfair treaty that is incapable of forcing U.S. soldiers to assume full responsibility for their illegal behavior.