Korea's main opposition party leader insisted Monday that the government launch renegotiations with the U.S. to revise the long-pending free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries when he held talks with President Lee Myung-bak, both sides said.
It is not new that the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) wants the trade pact revised. Still, Monday's reiteration of the stance bodes badly for the government's push to get the deal through parliament. Signed in 2007 and supplemented last December, the agreement has been awaiting approval from the legislatures of the two countries.
During the talks, Lee asked DP leader Sohn Hak-kyu for "active cooperation" on the FTA issue "for the sake of the country's future," according to a joint statement. But Sohn accused the agreement of having "lost balance greatly" and said it must be renegotiated, the statement said.
The trade pact was one of the six agenda items for the rare meeting between Lee and the opposition leader. Also discussed were public calls for lowering college tuitions, job creation, ways to curb household debts and the opposition's demand for a supplementary budget.
On college education, Lee and Sohn agreed that college tuitions need to be lowered and the policy should be pushed forward, along with a restructuring of colleges. But they "differed on specific ways" to cut tuitions, the joint statement said without elaborating.
The sides agreed to continue discussions on the issue to resolve differences, it said.
Lee and Sohn agreed that the government will put forth a package of measures to curb household debts to ensure that the issue will not pose risks to the country's economy. The package will include measures to keep household debts below an appropriate level while lessening the burden on households, the statement said.
The two sides also agreed to cooperate closely to get to the bottom of a massive corruption scandal involving savings banks and to work out measures to prevent the recurrence of a similar case. They also agreed to work closely together to create as many jobs as possible and narrow the gap between regular and temporary workers, the statement said.
Monday's talks marked the first of their kind in about three years since September 2008 when then-DP leader Chung Sye-kyun held talks with Lee.
The meeting also drew attention as Sohn is considered a leading opposition contender for next year's presidential race. Sohn's popularity and standing in his party received a big boost in April when he won a parliamentary by-election in an electoral district that has been considered a ruling party stronghold.
Despite the lack of any breakthrough agreement from the talks, presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said the talks were meaningful in that they paved the way for the two sides to "meet at any time and discuss difficult issues."
DP spokesman Lee Yong-sup also gave a positive assessment, saying that Sohn talked about economic difficulties ordinary people face and that the meeting will serve as an opportunity for the presidential office to focus polices more on caring for mid and lower-income people. (Yonhap)