South Korea’s Lee Urges People to Support Free-Trade Agreement With U.S.
South Korea’s government urged lawmakers and the public to support a free-trade agreement with the U.S. that it said would broaden the Asian nation’s “economical territory.”
The accord would help boost South Korea’s trade surplus by freeing up exchanges with economies producing 61 percent of global output, the Ministry of Strategy and Economy said today in an e-mailed statement. Delaying ratification would lose the country more than it could win, Finance Minister Bahk Jae Wan said in a commentary on the ministry’s website.
President Lee Myung Bak’s administration is focused on explaining benefits from the deal through print and television appeals after the National Assembly on Oct. 28 failed to vote on the treaty. President Barack Obama signed the agreement into U.S. law on Oct. 21 after Congress approved it on Oct. 12.
“We can gain the advantage in some areas and give up a little in others,” said Lee Sung Kwon, chief economist at Shinhan Investment Corp. in Seoul. “There’s no way any country can have benefits only.”
The government wants ratification in early November so the agreement can take effect Jan. 1. Opposition forces including the Democratic Party want to delay an FTA vote, linking it to the outcome of South Korea’s April legislative election.
Hundreds of farmers and others stormed the National Assembly to protest the pact on Oct. 28, saying it threatens agriculture and retail industries, especially small businesses and the self-employed.
‘Can’t Delay Indefinitely’
“While our globally competitive car, semiconductor and information technology industries will benefit, there’s concern about farming and livestock, which are inferior,” Shinhan Investment’s Lee said. “Still, for the sake of our country’s future, we can’t delay indefinitely.”
South Korea’s trade surplus may expand by an average $2.77 billion annually in the first 15 years of the accord, with automobile, electronics and chemicals exporters among the biggest contributors, the ministry said in a statement on Oct. 13. Gross domestic output may increase by as much as 5.7 percent annually in the first 10 years and generate 350,000 jobs, it estimated.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sangim Han in Seoul at sihan@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Tighe at ptighe@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page