Korea-India trade pact studded with translation errors

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The trade pact signed between South Korea and India in January 2010, dubbed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), included numerous translation errors, a lawmaker said Wednesday.

The fresh allegation came at the National Assembly foreign relations committee meeting where lawmakers agreed to scrap the existing Korea-EU trade motion for translation errors.

Rep. Park Sun-young of the minor Liberty Forward Party addressed another problem in CEPA, based on her personal scrutiny of the trade accord.

The lawmaker raised the incorrect translations although she read just the first 10 pages, just as the Korea-EU free trade agreement (Korea-EU FTA) did.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) admitted the trade pact with the EU had 207 items that were mistranslated into Korean.

Complaining of the dysfunctional impact of translation errors on legislative activities, Rep. Park proposed the creation of a parliamentary committee to examine whether trade or other agreements signed with foreign governments had been translated correctly.

Under the proposal, lawmakers will read the documents after the body confirms these documents were translated correctly.

Members of the committee sat down at the meeting to dump the pre-submitted trade pact motion as it had 207 “minor” translation errors.

They agreed to scrap the existing motion, after reading through the actual translation sheets. This is the second time for the foreign relations committee to dump the same motion for translation work that was misleading.

MOFAT plans to re-summit a new version by April 12 to the foreign relations committee after correcting the translation errors.

Lawmakers will read it before sending it to the plenary session for voting on the measure.

The European Union already ratified the Korea-EU FTA. To be effective, Korea’s parliament must pass the motion before President Lee Myung-bak signs it into law.

Earlier, South Korea and the EU agreed to make the trade pact take effect from July 1.

The legislature’s ratification process has become lengthier than expected, as several translation errors were belatedly detected.

To make the pact take effect from July 1, the National Assembly must ratify the trade pact no later than April, because there are related laws to be revised in accordance with the trade deal.

The clock is ticking, but translation errors hold back the legislature’s ratification.

At a meeting with senior Grand National Party lawmakers, Rep. Kim Moo-sung urged opposition parties to be cooperative in timely ratifying the motion.

“The European Union accounts for approximately 30 percent of the world’s GNP. It is the world’s largest economic bloc,” he noted. “Considering the importance of the EU market, South Korea should ratify the accord in time.”

CEPA: 한-인도 자유무역협정도 번역 실수 다수

자유선진당 박선영의원은 일명 CEPA로 불리는 한-인도 자유무역협정도 다수의 번역실수가 있다고 지적했다.

국회외교통상위 의사진행발언을 통해 박의원은 CEPA 협정문안 10페이지를 직접 읽어 본 결과 여기서만 다수의 번역실수를 발견했다고 주장했다.

박의원은 상임위에서 외국과 체결한 협정문의 번역의 정확성을 검증하기 위한 위원회 설치를 제안했다.

한편, 한-EU 자유무역협정안을 철회하기 위한 외교통상위 회의에서는 다수의 번역실수로 동 협정안을 두번 철회하는 해프닝을 연출했다.