Arirang News | 2 October 2008
Gov't. to Submit FTA Bill to National Assembly Next Week
The Korean government is planning to ask for National Assembly approval of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement next week.
Deputy Trade Minister Lee Hye-min says all necessary steps have been taken to submit the FTA ratification bill to the National Assembly.
Opinion is still divided in the Korean legislature whether the trade deal should be approved.
Meanwhile, Lee admits that while Korea hoped the trade deal would be passed during the lame duck session of the U.S. Congress, it is now unclear how things will pan out after the U.S. presidential election in early November.
Nonetheless, he urged Korean lawmakers to review the FTA thoroughly considering the significance of the agreement to Korea.
