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TWN Info Service on Free Trade Agreements 15 January 2009 The South Korea-US
FTA took a back seat after the South Korean parliament failed to pass
a bill that would have paved the way for the ratification of the agreement
in its last sitting thanks to a 12-day siege by opposition lawmakers
at the parliament. The ruling
Grand National Party (GNP), which has 172 of the National Assembly’s
299 seats, wanted to pass some 80 bills – including the one on the South
Korea-US FTA - before the end of the last session which ended last week.
But because of strong protests by members of the opposition Democratic
Party, the legislation will be on hold until a later parliamentary session,
probably in February. It has
been a dramatic few weeks that included clashes involving sledgehammers
and fire extinguishers between the opposition and the ruling GNP when
the latter began procedures to ratify the free trade agreement with
the This
protest mirrors that of previous protests by the masses last year when
thousands took to the streets across the country opposing the FTA with
the US over fears that it would, among other things, impact farmers
and workers negatively due to an expected competition from imports of
goods from the US. The South
Korea-US FTA has languished in political limbo since being signed nearly
18 months ago. It still needs approval from legislatures in both countries,
but this latest development coupled with the lukewarm reception that
the US President-elect Barack Obama has given the FTA
and the global financial crisis, have further raised questions about
its passage. Best wishes,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SEOUL, South Korea
(AP) — Opposition lawmakers ended their violent, 12-day siege of South
Korea’s parliament Tuesday after blocking — for now — a U.S. free trade
deal and other legislation. Democratic
Party legislators had occupied the National Assembly since Dec. 26,
fending off security guards who tried to drag them out by force last
week in scuffles that left nearly 100 people with minor injuries. Party
leader Rep. Chung Se-kyun said the parliamentary speaker assured
him the ruling party would abandon its bid to ram through a raft of
bills — including the free trade deal — by the end of the parliamentary
session Thursday. The ruling
Grand National Party, which has 172 of the assembly’s 299 seats, wanted
to pass some 80 bills before the current session ends. But because
of the opposition siege, the legislation will be on hold until a later
parliamentary session, probably next month. "We
have safeguarded parliamentary democracy," said Chung, flanked
by lawmakers in front of the hall. Chung
apologized to the nation for the violence. Last month, opposition lawmakers
armed with sledgehammers pounded their way into a committee room where
ruling party lawmakers were meeting. "The
Democratic Party hopes there won’t be a situation where we cannot help
but make this choice again," he said. The ruling
party has enough control of parliament to easily pass the government’s
version of the legislation. But Chung’s
party had sought negotiations with the opposition to find a suitable
compromise of the The opposition
says the bill must include measures to protect farmers, laborers and
others expected to suffer from a surge in imports from the Another
point of dispute is a ruling party-sponsored bill that would ease restrictions
on business and newspaper ownership of broadcast stations. Critics say
the bill, which would help large, pro-government newspapers and companies
establish television stations, is meant to give the Lee administration
control over broadcasters. --------------------------------------------------
1. SKorean opposition
ordered to end occupation of parliament,
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