Korea Times, Seoul
Roh Shifts Stance on Korea-US FTA
By Kang Hyun-kyung, Staff Reporter
12 November 2008
The governing Grand National Party (GNP) Wednesday accused former President Roh Moo-hyun, who called on the government to prepare for renegotiations of the free trade agreement with the United States which was clinched under his presidency, of reversing his stance.
``Roh had stated that the trade pact was the one that he felt most proud of among the accomplishments his government had pulled together,'' said GNP Spokesman Cha Myeong-jin.
Cha assailed Roh, saying, ``Now he is saying that he has nothing to do with the product he had made by calling for renegotiations.''
Cha warned Roh should behave as a former president, saying times are tough and he should be more supportive to get the accord on the right track.
The former president recently uploaded a piece of his writing about the prospects of the fate of the KORUS FTA onto an Internet forum called Democracy 2.0 designed for the discussion of major political agendas.
In the article, Roh insisted the government prepare for possible renegotiations, instead of seeking ratification of the bill.
``The U.S. Congress will never feel pressure even though the Korean legislature passes the accord. Even if the government is not going to cooperate with the U.S. government in case it demands renegotiations, the U.S. Congress will not approve the old pact,'' he said.
If this takes place, Roh predicted the KORUS FTA would go nowhere.
As for the shift in stance on the trade accord in which he sent the go-ahead sign then chief negotiator, Roh made the excuse that the situation has changed.
``I am saying that we need to be strategic. Policymakers are supposed to review existing policies to check if they are still fitting in with the new policy setting and if there has been a major change,'' he said.
Roh called the stance ``pragmatism and foreign policy that serves the national interests.''
He made the argument at a time when the GNP and opposition parties were engaged in a tug of war over the ratification of the trade accord.
GNP's plan to pass the bill during the current National Assembly session met with hostile reaction as opposition parties including conservative Liberty Forward Party showed no sign of cooperation in bipartisan agreement on the ratification.
LFP Spokeswoman Park Sun-young took sides with former President Roh, saying the legislature's preparing for renegotiations seems to be a wiser tactic than seeking ratification now.
