By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
A majority of local CEOs think the stalemated Korea-U.S. free trade deal will be wasted if it isn't ratified by the end of this month, a poll said Tuesday.
A Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) survey of 101 domestic company CEOs said 64 percent of business executives feel that the month of February is the deadline to pass the free trade accord or let it go to waste.
And if the pact does fall apart, nearly half of respondents said Korea has more to lose than the U.S.
The main reason behind this was linked to trade, as 48 percent said a broken deal would lose an excellent export opportunity, while 27 percent said it would slow down the country's economic advancement.
Almost 70 percent of CEOs said that Seoul should ratify first and pressure the U.S. to follow the same path, urging the Korean government to take necessary steps in taking care of lingering problems.
The bilateral trade agreement will be reviewed by the National Assembly's plenary session until the end of this month, but opinion is mixed on whether the controversial bill will pass.