Liberal lawmakers join forces to rescue FTA dissenter colleague

SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- There are many South Korean lawmakers who are critical of ratifying a free trade deal with the United States, but only few are known well enough to wield extraordinary influence on the issue, and a farmer-turned-legislator Kang Ki-kab is one of them.

The solemn-faced lawmaker, who has long put up a lonely fight for the country's
underprivileged, is now fighting for his own fate as he awaits the court's
decision on his alleged election irregularities.
He has been under investigation for defaming a rival candidate during the April
parliamentary elections and will lose his hard-earned seat in the National
Assembly if the court sentences him to more than 1 million won (US$752) in fines.
Prosecutors demanded a penalty of 3 million won earlier this month.
"Yes, I am nervous," Kang told Yonhap News Agency. "I dare say this is a
politically driven issue. I hardly expect the court to make a fair decision."
Kang's Democratic Labor Party (DLP), which has five seats in the 299-member
unicameral legislature, is trying to save its leader by arguing that the
government is pulling strings to unseat the prominent dissenter of the Korea-U.S.
free trade agreement (FTA).
The DLP's claim has some weight. Kang's election rival was Lee Bang-ho, a close
confidant of President Lee Myung-bak. Kang's April victory in Gyeongsang
Province, a region with deep conservative roots, was the most significant event
for his progressive party but an embarrassment to the president's party.
On Tuesday, the largest opposition Democratic Party (DP) joined in the effort to
save Kang, with all of its 82 lawmakers signing a petition requesting the court's
leniency for their colleague.
"Rep. Kang is a former farmer who has become a critical member of South Korean
politics," the petition said. "We ask for your leniency with a firm belief that
the country needs Rep. Kang at the parliament as the representative of laborers
and farmers."
The main opposition party is locked in confrontation with the ruling Grand
National Party (GNP) over the Korea-U.S. FTA and has been boycotting the Assembly
and blocking deliberation of bills since last week.
Determined to ratify the FTA before the end of the year, the ruling party
unilaterally introduced the bill to the legislature. It holds 172 seats in the
parliament, enough to have the motion approved despite liberal legislators'
objection.
"We need the labor party's help. And Kang is not only the leader, but the heart
of the party," a DP lawmaker said.
Although Kang's party and the DP oppose immediate FTA approval for slightly
different reasons, they both call for more time and more countermeasures before
the bilateral deal goes into effect.
"I do not understand why the Lee government is rushing the process," Kang said.
"The most important goal is to protect the lives of the underprivileged and I
plan to take my best shot at blocking the FTA for that very purpose."
Local farmers fear they will not be able to compete with cheap imported products
due to South Korea's small-scale farming structure and costly fertilizers and
farming tools.
President Lee's party wants an immediate approval of the FTA to give impetus to
the economic initiatives of the administration, which has been staggering amid an
ongoing global financial crisis.
The conservative party believes the U.S. Congress -- split over pending free
trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia -- will speed up ratification
following Seoul's lead. Its opponents call Lee's party "naive," especially after
Democrat Barack Obama's election victory last month. Obama has outwardly opposed
the Korea deal in its current form.
The free trade pact has been billed as the most significant event in South
Korea-U.S. relations since the two countries signed a military accord in 1953.
Economically, it is expected to boost two-way trade -- already worth $79 billion
a year -- by as much as $20 billion in the coming years.
hayney@yna.co.kr