ID :
186199
Fri, 06/03/2011 - 06:45
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/186199
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Cabinet approves new version of KORUS FTA ratification bill
SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- The Cabinet approved a new ratification bill for the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) on Friday after fixing translation errors in the Korean text of the deal, the government said.
The previous bill was submitted to the parliament in October 2008, about a year after the two countries signed the FTA.
But the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and trade retracted the bill last month after multiple translation errors were discovered in the Korean text of the agreement.
The new ratification motion includes the corrected version of the text as well as terms of a supplementary deal reached last December to reflect U.S. demands that South Korea soften its automotive safety and environmental standards, the government said.
The deal, known as the KORUS FTA, has yet to be ratified by parliaments of both countries.
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik urged Cabinet ministers to do their best to win an early parliamentary passage of the deal.
"The KORUS FTA is an inevitable choice for our country's economic growth and reform, and is a win-win strategy designed to boost cooperative ties between the two countries," Kim said during a special Cabinet meeting called to approve the new ratification bill.
"The government should do its best to fully explain economic and security benefits of the deal to the people and persuade some opponents, including opposition parties, so the bill can pass the National Assembly quickly," he said.
But the bill will likely face tough resistance from opposition parties that have claimed the FTA would only favor the U.S. auto industry while worsening the lives of most South Koreans.
The previous bill was submitted to the parliament in October 2008, about a year after the two countries signed the FTA.
But the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and trade retracted the bill last month after multiple translation errors were discovered in the Korean text of the agreement.
The new ratification motion includes the corrected version of the text as well as terms of a supplementary deal reached last December to reflect U.S. demands that South Korea soften its automotive safety and environmental standards, the government said.
The deal, known as the KORUS FTA, has yet to be ratified by parliaments of both countries.
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik urged Cabinet ministers to do their best to win an early parliamentary passage of the deal.
"The KORUS FTA is an inevitable choice for our country's economic growth and reform, and is a win-win strategy designed to boost cooperative ties between the two countries," Kim said during a special Cabinet meeting called to approve the new ratification bill.
"The government should do its best to fully explain economic and security benefits of the deal to the people and persuade some opponents, including opposition parties, so the bill can pass the National Assembly quickly," he said.
But the bill will likely face tough resistance from opposition parties that have claimed the FTA would only favor the U.S. auto industry while worsening the lives of most South Koreans.
