Clash looms in parliament over FTA with U.S.

SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) is set to once again attempt to bring Korea's free trade agreement with the United States into a parliamentary committee Thursday, the first step toward ratification, amid strong objections from opposition parties.
The trade pact, first signed in 2007 and modified last year, is one of the most contentious issues in parliament. The governing party is calling for an early ratification, while the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) claims the deal favors the U.S. and should be renegotiated.
The GNP had planned to put the bill before the parliamentary foreign affairs and trade committee on Wednesday, but held off for a day after the DP and the progressive opposition Democratic Labor Party put up strong objections to the move.
On Thursday morning, Rep. Nam Kyung-pil, the GNP-affiliated chairman of the committee, said that he cannot but invoke his right as chair to bring the bill into the committee if efforts to find a compromise with the opposition parties fail.
Opposition parties have hinted at the possibility of using force to block the planned tabling of the bill, raising concern that the clash could descend into a melee. In late 2008, lawmakers' fighting over the trade accord even featured a sledgehammer and chain saw.
The main opposition DP has put forward what it calls a "10 plus two" proposal, which calls for revising 10 items in the trade pact through renegotiations with the U.S. and two measures aimed at
minimizing the deal's effect on the local industries.
The GNP says the demand for renegotiation with the U.S. is unacceptable.
The ruling party says the deal should be ratified during the regular parliamentary session in October at the latest and therefore should be introduced at the committee early, as the U.S. is expected to ratify the agreement by October.
But the opposition party says the bill can wait until the U.S. sets a concrete timetable for its ratification.