Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan, left, and Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon listen to lawmakers’ questions during a hearing at the National Assembly, Tuesday. The hearing was intended to focus on the pending Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. But opposition lawmakers said they would link the controversial U.S. beef agreement with ratification of a free trade deal with the United States. / Korea Times |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) leader Sohn Hak-kyu expressed, Tuesday, conditional willingness to help ratify a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
``The government's notification for beef import terms scheduled on Thursday should be postponed, and renegotiations with the United States should begin. If these are done, we will handle the FTA issue," he said.
Two other opposition parties ― the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and the Renewal of Korea Party (ROKP) ― also said they would discuss the ratification after the beef safety issue is resolved.
The governing Grand National Party (GNP), meanwhile, urged the opposition to stop agitating the people with misleading words.
GNP floor leader Ahn Sang-soo said, ``The government signed the FTA and the beef deal not to curry favor with the United States, but to help move the economy.''
But some GNP lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with the government's circulation of inaccurate information, referring to the translation error. Rep. Lee Hahn-koo said the government lost public trust for its inaccurate announcement.
Opposition party lawmakers called the mistake made by the government negotiation team ``a terrible, terrible mistake.''
In the beef negotiations, the government delegates agreed to import cows aged 30 months or older, which have more chances of being infected with mad cow disease.
The government tried to quell the possible backlash for the concession, saying the United States pledged to apply stricter measures in the Cattle Materials Prohibited in Animal Food (CMPA) to prevent the possible outbreak of the disease.
Weeks later, local media reports found the government's announcement to be false.
The negotiators tried to cover up their translation mistakes, which were identified in the U.S. Federal Register on April 25.
It said, ``(cattle that were not inspected and passed for human consumption) are not considered CMPA if the animals were shown to be less than 30 months of age, regardless of whether the brain and spinal cord have been removed.''
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration document said the brain and spinal cord from cattle 30 months of age and older are not allowed to be used for animal food.
Opposition parties stepped up an attack against the government.
``Previously, I wished the FTA would be ratified as soon as possible. But I changed my mind after being informed about the critical blunders in the negotiations,'' UDP Co-chairman Sohn said.
ROKP leader Moon Kook-hyun urged President Lee Myung-bak to apologize for his team's incompetence.
The minor opposition party launched an online anti-U.S. beef campaign, titled 3 Don'ts ― Do not buy, Do not eat and Do not sell. About 430,000 people have signed up for the cause.
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr
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