The United States has not yet proposed renegotiation over the free trade agreement
signed with South Korea in early April, the top Korean negotiator said Friday.
"So far today, the U.S. hasn't officially made any request for renegotiation," Ambassador Kim Jong-hoon, South Korea's chief negotiator in free trade talks with the U.S., told reporters after the release of the full text.
The government released the 1,200-page full text of its landmark pact, in both Korean and English languages, on the Web sites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and six other government agencies.
South Korea and the U.S. will hold talks from May 29 to June 6 in Washington to finalize a legal review process for the complete text, Kim said in a statement.
The deal, widely expected to be signed by the end of June, must be ratified by the legislative bodies of both countries.
But both government are likely to face hardship in getting approval from lawmakers because of the unpopularity of both presidents and weak support for them in their respective legislative bodies.
But Korean government officials have praised the agreement as a "win-win" deal, while farmers and laborers argue the agreement threatens the livelihood of farmers and will eliminate local jobs because of an influx of cheap American goods.
President Roh, an ardent supporter of the deal, has repeatedly expressed a positive view of the agreement both during and after the negotiations.
"Many people resented what they called unreasonable U.S. pressure, and some street demonstrators argued that the Korean government was selling out the country," Roh said in a speech posted on his office's Web site.
"I must make myself clear here that the Korean government is not the kind that cannot distinguish benefits from losses ... As I followed the negotiation process, I was deeply convinced of our civil servants' position and capabilities," Roh said.
South Korea and the U.S. are also likely to sit down again to make changes to some parts of the agreement to reflect the U.S.'s new trade policy that requires any free trade deal to include tougher labor and environmental regulations.