ID :
191769
Wed, 06/29/2011 - 12:19
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/191769
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Thousands march in Seoul over free trade deal with U.S., college tuitions
SEOUL, June 29 (Yonhap) -- Braving heavy rains, more than 8,000 people staged rallies in central Seoul Wednesday against a free trade deal with the United States, high college tuitions and sensitive labor issues.
About 2,000 college students and members of the national farmers' union gathered at a public square next to the Seoul train station, calling for the government to stop ratifying its free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. and to cut tuition costs.
The FTA bill, first signed in 2007 and submitted to the National Assembly in late 2008, has been sitting unratified for more than two years due to severe opposition from farmers and left-leaning politicians.
The protest came as the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) has vowed to pass the ratification bill during an extra parliamentary session in August, which, farmers argue, may pummel the local farming industry by bringing in cheaper foreign farm produce.
"Excessive imports of custom-free products and (ill-conceived) price stabilization policies resulted in an unprecedented 80 percent plunge in agricultural goods," the farmers' federation said.
Thousands of labor union members also took to the streets in the capital, demanding an increase in the statutory minimum wage and a revision of a labor law that exempts companies from paying wages to full-time labor union executives and allows multiple labor unions at a single workplace.
Thousands of riot policemen were dispatched to watch for potential violence at the protest sites, but no injuries were reported.
pbr@yna.co.kr
About 2,000 college students and members of the national farmers' union gathered at a public square next to the Seoul train station, calling for the government to stop ratifying its free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. and to cut tuition costs.
The FTA bill, first signed in 2007 and submitted to the National Assembly in late 2008, has been sitting unratified for more than two years due to severe opposition from farmers and left-leaning politicians.
The protest came as the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) has vowed to pass the ratification bill during an extra parliamentary session in August, which, farmers argue, may pummel the local farming industry by bringing in cheaper foreign farm produce.
"Excessive imports of custom-free products and (ill-conceived) price stabilization policies resulted in an unprecedented 80 percent plunge in agricultural goods," the farmers' federation said.
Thousands of labor union members also took to the streets in the capital, demanding an increase in the statutory minimum wage and a revision of a labor law that exempts companies from paying wages to full-time labor union executives and allows multiple labor unions at a single workplace.
Thousands of riot policemen were dispatched to watch for potential violence at the protest sites, but no injuries were reported.
pbr@yna.co.kr
