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Korea

Korea, China not ready for free trade pact: trade official
10-Aug-2006
A South Korean trade official, who participated in the recent free trade negotiations with Washington, said that Seoul was not in a position to play the "China card" in its negotiations with the United States for fear of causing unnecessary backlash from Washington, referring to the negotiation leverage that might be gained by first signing a free trade pact with China.
How the public participate in taking the position and action against FTA?
10-Aug-2006 Media Culture Action against neoliberal globalization
Experiences & strategies for radical communication in (counter) public sphere around Kor-US FTA talk during the 1st half of 2006
’Korea unprepared for U.S. FTA talks’
9-Aug-2006
Eight out of ten lawmakers think the government were insufficiently prepared to enter free trade talks with the United States, and criticized them for failing to seek a national consensus before starting negotiations two months ago.
Seoul reveals a lack of experience in FTA negotiations
9-Aug-2006
"We are learning new things while we’re negotiating with the American representatives," said a Korean official who was part of the labor section negotiation team during the first round of the Korea-U.S. FTA talks, held in Washington last June. "The U.S. is demanding the introduction of a so-called ’public communication system,’ which was a term that we heard for the first time," the negotiator told Hankyoreh.
East Asia FTA can be done in 10 years, says Ong
9-Aug-2006
A free trade agreement (FTA) between Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) and China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and India (East Asia FTA) is possible in the next 10 years, Asean secretary-general, Ong Keng Yong, said Tuesday.
Economists call FTA with US hasty
8-Aug-2006
Seoul National University President Chung Un-chan, who is also a prominent economist, has criticized the government’s handling of the free trade agreement with the United States as hasty application of theory.
Ex-Roh supporter calls on president to stop FTA
7-Aug-2006 Korea Times
Well-known social commentator and oriental philosopher Kim Young-oak, better known by his penname Doh-ol, said that Korean President Roh Moo-hyun should stop pushing for the establishment of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, citing the lack of public support.
US FTA to cause big drop in agriculture output: report
4-Aug-2006 Hankyoreh
A free trade pact with the United States is expected to cause South Korean agricultural output to fall by 1-2 trillion won (US$1.03-$2.07 billion), a report by a state-run think tank said Friday.
Lawmakers mulling free trade impact
2-Aug-2006
The “Special committee for the Korea-US FTA in the national assembly” kicked off yesterday with an opening session to deal with the Korea-US FTA issues at the lawmaker level.
Business Lobby Group Urges FTA with EU
2-Aug-2006
Korea’s big-business lobby is urging a free-trade agreement with the European Union. The Federation of Korean Industries reports the Korean and the European economies are complementary, hence there will be few hurdles to sealing a pact.
Half of Koreans oppose US FTA
2-Aug-2006 Korea Times
Half of South Koreans said in a recent poll that they oppose a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
Anti-FTA bodies join forces against US deals
1-Aug-2006 Bangkok Post
Thailand’s anti-FTA movements have formed an alliance with counterparts in other countries including South Korea, Costa Rica and Colombia against US efforts to strike bilateral trade agreements across the globe.
An FTA story for children
31-Jul-2006
Hello, my young friends! I want to share with you a strange math equation that I found. It attempts to tell you what the sum is after such and such numbers are added up. Or, it tries to tell you the average of all these numbers combined. For example, it tells what GDP is, what the whole trade volume is, what per capita income is. Confusing? Well, I am not so good at numbers, so I also didn’t let the equation bother me very much, either. It was perhaps because I wasn’t that much interested in economics, after all.
A Korea-U.S. trade agreement: what is at stake?
31-Jul-2006 The Hankyoreh
This examines macro-economic issues, intellectual property and patent protections, the potential impact on pharmaceuticals, and other issues at stake in the U.S.-Korea FTA.
Fighting the US-South Korea free trade agreement
28-Jul-2006 S&L
Participants in the growing movement inside South Korea who are opposed to the proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement held demonstrations in Washington, D.C. during the first week of June while negotiations were being conducted.
Will US Change Laws for FTA With Korea?
26-Jul-2006
South Korea has three major demands in its free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the United States since June when the first round of bilateral meeting began.
U.S. FTA will batter banking sector: study
23-Jul-2006
The much-touted benefits of a free trade agreement with the United States will be confined to commercial enterprises, while other sectors of the Korean economy, particularly the banking industry, will take a battering, a think thank warned yesterday.
Japan-Korea BIT (2002)
23-Jul-2006
US ambassador to S Korea calls criticism of FTA premature
22-Jul-2006 Hankyoreh
"The opponents of the FTA are fighting a ghost, as they have no knowledge of what the final outcome of the talks will be."
National Assembly committee demands free trade data
21-Jul-2006 Hankyoreh
A Korea National Assembly committee said it would request data from the government regarding agricultural, fishing, and livestock products discussed at South Korea-US free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.