Ruling party delays introduction of KORUS FTA bill

SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's ruling party said Wednesday that it will submit the free trade pact between the country and the U.S. to a parliamentary committee on Thursday, failing to meet its original deadline.
The Grand National Party planned to introduce the bill to the parliament earlier in the day, but the opposition Democratic Party blocked the move saying more discussion is necessary for the ratification of the free trade deal.
The ruling party has been seeking to submit the long-pending free trade deal before the end of the month in a move to keep pace with Washington's efforts to get the deal through Congress in September.
Early this month, U.S. Congressional leaders said they have agreed on a path to approve the trade agreement next month.
The accord, known as the KORUS FTA, was signed in June 2007, but the deal was supplemented in late December of last year with minor modifications that mostly deal with the auto industry.
South Korea's opposition parties have been pressing the government to renegotiate the deal as they claim the pact does not reflect a balance of interests, and come up with more support measures for agriculture and other sectors.
According to the report jointly compiled by 10 local state-run think tanks, including the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, if the deal takes effect, South Korea will see its gross domestic product expand by an additional 5.66 percent in the long term.
The think tanks also predicted that South Korea will see its trade surplus with the U.S. increase by US$140 million annually over the next 15 years after the FTA goes into effect.