By Kim Hyo-jin
The envisioned renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) is likely to become a hot-button issue in the 20-day National Assembly audit of government offices that begins today.
Opposition parties have launched an all-out political offensive against the Moon Jae-in government since Seoul and Washington agreed last week to begin a process to amend the FTA. They claimed the government failed to properly handle the Donald Trump administration’s requests for renegotiation in the early stages, causing a situation that could result in huge economic damage to the nation.
Dismissing this as political maneuvering, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) renewed its call for bipartisan support to balance the economic interests of the two countries once the renegotiations begin.
The party wants to introduce it as an opportunity to rectify poisonous provisions in the existing agreement, including a clause concerning investor-state dispute (ISD) settlement and strict protection of U.S. intellectual property rights.
Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong will attend an audit session by the National Assembly Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, Friday. Kim is scheduled to report on the proceedings of the talks on the FTA.
Amid growing tension between rival parties, Kim visited committee members, Tuesday, to prepare for the audit session.
He said he will engage in the negotiations prudently and firmly while following relevant domestic procedures transparently, DPK spokesman Kang Hoon-sik said.
But the visit failed to ease the opposition parties. They said the government should explain how it reached agreement on renegotiations and Moon needs to apologize for previously indicating there would be no talks.
“The government has misjudged Washington’s intention, disregarding the intensity of its call for the renegotiation of the bilateral deal,” People’s Party Chairman Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo said during a party meeting.
Ahn pointed out that a trade ministry official in charge of the trade deal said in early July that talks with the U.S. were renegotiations, and a ruling party chief policymaker dismissed Trump’s remarks as only for domestic politics.
“It should clarify what caused the misunderstanding, and regardless of if it was the outcome of ignorance or intentional lies, Moon should apologize to the people,” he said.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) also ratcheted up its attacks, saying the ruling party and Moon should explain the shift in their stance. It took issue with the party’s earlier vehement opposition to ratification of KORUS FTA in 2011.
LKP Chairman Hong Joon-pyo, who backed the ratification when leading the Grand National Party at that time, asked for an apology from the party for calling him and his fellow lawmakers traitors.
In response, Choo Mi-ae said, “There is a responsibility that one party should respond to the other’s request for amendment. The oppositions only indulged in excessive political attacks.”
Korean Trade Minister Kim and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer agreed Wednesday to begin the long-anticipated process to amend the FTA.
It came in the second round of talks on U.S. demands for renegotiation. The Trump administration has blamed KORUS FTA for its growing deficit in goods trade with Korea.
Following the announcement, the trade ministry said it will carry out the procedures necessary to begin renegotiations, including an economic feasibility study, public hearings and reports to the National Assembly.