By Lee Tae-hoon
Senior lawmakers of the ruling party reiterated Monday that they would push for the ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) during the August session of the National Assembly.
“We are aiming to pass the FTA bill by the end of next month,” Rep. Hwang Woo-yeo, floor leader of the Grand National Party (GNP), said.
The four-term lawmaker dispelled growing concerns that the conservative party may use its majority status to ram through the contentious bill without proper deliberations with the opposition.
The GNP, which controls 169 seats in the 299-member unicameral legislature, has unilaterally endorsed a number of major bills after physical clashes with rival parties, including budget proposals and an FTA with the European Union.
When asked what his party would do if opposition parties forcibly block the passage of the trade pact, Hwang replied that his party will likely stick with the democratic process while it also remains pending in the U.S. Congress.
“So long as Washington does not ram the trade deal through the Congress, the GNP will handle the matter through dialogue and negotiations with opposition parties,” he said.
GNP spokeswoman Rep. Bae Eun-hee also noted that the GNP reaffirmed its position that it will push for the passage of the KORUS FTA at a joint workshop of the party’s Supreme Council and policy committee on Sunday.
Last Wednesday, Hwang and the GNP’s new Chairman Hong Joon-pyo expressed their support for a prompt ratification of the much-delayed trade deal at a meeting with presidential chief of staff Yim Tae-hee.
The FTA was signed in 2007, but the government’s move to get the bill ratified has been blocked partly because of strong objections from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and the country’s farming industry.
However, Chairman Hong, who is known as a strong advocator of the FTA, hinted that the GNP may have to risk a physical showdown with rival parties, suggesting a division within the ruling block.
Hong reportedly said the GNP has no reason to hesitate in using its majority status to approve the bill as recent polls show some 65 percent of the public support the deal.
Business experts forecast that once implemented, the KORUS FTA may increase the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 6 percent over the next decade.
They claim that the bilateral deal could create as many as 34,000 jobs a year.
The fate of the deal, however, remains uncertain as the DP insists on renegotiations with Washington.
Meanwhile, the GNP has announced that it will push the passage of a bill that calls for stricter aid distribution monitoring in North Korea and financial aid to non-governmental organizations that keep records of human rights abuses in the communist country.