By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
South Korean negotiators for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States will face intensive parliamentary inquiries from Monday.
The National Assembly, which has been reviewing the full agreement since May 25 when the FTA text was made public, will put its scrutiny focus on Korea’s few gains and many yields in the bilateral talks sealed in early April.
Figures such as Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong, chief negotiator Kim Jong-hoon and deputy chief negotiator Lee Hye-min are required to answer lawmakers’ questions.
In a statement, 65 lawmakers from the pro-government and opposition parties announced 75 major items which should be probed by the National Assembly.
They said the items include ``infringement on legislative power,’’ ``alleged manipulation of economic effects by state-owned research institutes,’’ ``the government’s intentional delay of notifying negotiation results to the Assembly’’ and ``the government’s concealing of information.’’
They said the negotiations were concluded on the basis of ``apparent inequality’’ in each sector.
``As expected, Korea accepted almost all the demands of the U.S. lopsidedly,’’ they said. ``We cannot expect positive effects from our main demands in the automobiles and textiles sectors.’’
Pointing out the ``poisonous’’ clauses, demanded by U.S. negotiators, in the non-tariffs barrier sector, the lawmakers insisted the situation is very serious.
``The government even victimized the sector for public health and medical services by accepting U.S. demands to import mad cow disease-related American beef, and to open the Live Modified Organism (LMO) market,’’ they said.
Saying that the FTA talks proved to be spoiled and humiliating, they expressed deep anxiety about the coming renegotiations (or additional discussions) requested by the U.S.
``The Korea-U.S. FTA talks should be nullified as we have already emphasized a number of times,’’ they said.
President Roh Moo-hyun should keep his promise to hold televised debates with Korea-U.S. FTA opponents before signing the provisional agreement, they added.
Among the 65 lawmakers are those from the Uri Party, the Grand National Party, the Democratic Labor Party, the Democratic Party and those who deserted the Uri Party.