ISDS Case Map
Korea
With South Korea and the United States forging a free trade agreement on April 2, civic groups here were ratcheting up their opposition to the economic pact, blaming the government for "giving up our sovereignty in return for nothing."
"For the Koreans, the US was a priority so now that that is out of the way, we're hopeful we'll reach an agreement in the near future," a Canadian government official said Tuesday.
Published by USTR
Little was gained for Korea in the negotiations and the final draft reflects mostly an acceptance of American demands, writes The Hankyoreh.
Japan will study the pros and cons of a free trade agreement with the United States and is ready to restart FTA talks with South Korea, Cabinet ministers said Tuesday following a deal Washington and Seoul struck Monday.
South Korea has reportedly exempted US foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from safety tests in the Korea-US free trade agreement struck on April 2, a move that Korean environmentalists criticised as the government "selling off" the health of the nation.
Heo Se-ok, who set himself on fire on April 1 in protest of the Korean government's moves to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US, still remains in serious condition with burns over 63 percent of body, hospital officials said. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions issued a statement holding the government responsible for Heo's taking of extreme measures to protest the situation.
For the past few years, the backers and denouncers of a free trade accord between Korea and the United States have feuded like the Montagues and Capulets. Not surprisingly, the two camps are still polarized on whether the trade pact bringing together the world's largest and 10th largest economies is destined to be a happy marriage or Shakespearean tragedy.
Trade unionists on both sides of the Pacific expressed disappointment Monday after the United States and South Korea agreed the biggest US trade pact in 15 years with only minutes to go before a deadline.
A taxi driver Heo Seuk, 54 years old man, burnned himself and left his last speech, "Give up the KorUS FTA". He was in the fire for 2 minutes and the ambulance arrived 5 minutes later. Fortunately he is alive now. But his doctor Lee Jeongsub explained that the probability that he would survive is 20~30 percent.
