By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

A National Assembly committee passed a motion Wednesday to forward a free trade agreement (FTA) signed with the United States to the National Assembly for ratification, despite protests from opposition lawmakers. Accordingly, the motion was sent to a plenary session for a final vote.

Governing Grand National Party (GNP) floor leader Hong Joon-pyo said the final vote will take place in June after President Lee Myung-bak holds a planned summit with U.S. President Barack Obama. To go into effect, the U.S. Congress must ratify the pact as well.

Opposition parties called the passage ``procedurally flawed'' as Park Jin, chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee, refused to allow them to have a full discussion during the committee session.

GNP floor leader Hong hinted that his party, which has 170 seats in the 299-member legislature, will wait and see how the U.S. administration reacts to the matter, instead of going ahead with a final vote during the current Assembly session which ends later this month.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which is opposed to Korea's ratification before Congress approves the motion, did not participate in the committee vote.

DP floor leader Won Hye-young agreed in January to vote on the motion any time after the launch of the Obama administration.

Despite the DP boycott, the motion was nearly derailed as a group of 44 lawmakers from three opposition parties tried to block its passage.

The lawmakers, including Kang Ki-kab of the Democratic Labor Party, called on GNP leaders to come up with an effective structural adjustment program for farmers and other potential ``losers'' if the bilateral trade pact goes into effect, before ratification.

They insisted that the legislature should reassess the possible impact of the FTA on the agricultural sector, and public services and the media industries first before enacting measures to help victims.

GNP lawmakers, however, said the panel had carried out enough of an industry impact assessment over the past year and now was the time to vote.

Supporters said Korea's ratification of the trade accord before the United States starts deliberation will be helpful in moving it forward as their U.S. counterparts will probably feel pressured.

During the presidential campaign, Obama called the FTA ``seriously flawed,'' but he has not made it clear if there has been any change in his stance since he took office last January.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr