Scuffle expected in parliament over U.S. trade deal

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's ruling party said Wednesday it will use
its authority to physically restrain legislators who attempt to block the passage
of a free trade pact with the United States, provoking fury from its largest
rival.
The timing of the legislature's approval of the long-delayed Korea-U.S. free
trade agreement (FTA) has turned into a source of intense political dispute here,
especially after Democrat Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election last
month.
Keen to bolster the government's market-oriented economic initiatives, the ruling
Grand National Party (GNP) plans to submit the motion to a parliamentary
committee Thursday and settle it before the end of this year.
Opposition parties, however, have been fierce in their resistance, citing growing
uncertainties in the U.S. Congress.
"We have enforced authority so that legislators who attempt to occupy the podium
or use physical force to block the bill will be removed by security officers," a
ruling party lawmaker said Wednesday.
Lawmakers not members of the 29-member parliamentary committee will be barred
from entering the meeting room, he added.
The conservative ruling party controls 172 seats in the 299-member parliament,
enough to settle the motion without participation of opposition party
legislators.
The largest opposition Democratic Party (DP) vowed to fight back.
"The ruling party will have to pay for all its mistakes later on if it keeps on
using its numerical dominance to push forward evil legislations," floor leader
Won Hye-young said.
The liberal party, holding 83 seats, came up with an "alternative" Wednesday,
saying it will cooperate in settling the bilateral trade pact within 30 days
after Washington requests its legislature to ratify it.
"This is our bottom line and appears to be the most rational alternative," said
DP spokesman Choi Jae-sung.
The Korea-U.S. FTA, struck in June last of year, is the single biggest trade pact
between the two longstanding allies. It is expected to boost two-way trade, which
totaled US$79 billion in 2007, by as much as $20 billion in the coming years.
Business groups here want early an ratification of the agreement, complaining
that the delay is causing heavy losses to South Korean exporters of manufactured
goods to the world's biggest market.
Farmers, however, are demanding sufficient compensation and countermeasures,
fearing they will not be able to compete with cheaper imported products once the
deal is finalized.
Obama, who will become the United States' first African-American leader, is
fundamentally pro-free trade but views the deal with South Korea as flawed,
especially in the auto trade sector.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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