Anti-FTA voices slowly growing at the National Assembly
The Hankyoreh, Seoul
Anti-FTA voices slowly growing at the National Assembly
Editorial
17 March 2007
There are growing voices of opposition within the National Assembly to a free trade pact with the United States. On Friday, 38 legislators signed a statement saying the "best thing we can do at the current juncture is to immediately halt FTA negotiations that have hastily been pursued because the government is trying to meet the U.S.-set negotiation time limit." What is notable about the statement is that it was signed by members of all the factions existing in the Assembly. In signing the document, Kwon Oh-eul and Houng Moon-pyo became the first members of the Grand National Party (GNP) to openly express opposition to the FTA. Kim Geun-tae, a man who hopes to be the ruling Uri Party’s presidential candidate, called a press conference on the same day, saying that if the [President Roh Moo-hyun administration "is thinking about concluding a deal by the end of March, a deadline set by the U.S., it is going to have to walk over me to get there."
The government needs to take the appeals and warnings of these Assembly members seriously. When they call for a cessation in the negotiations, they are not unconditionally opposed to the FTA itself. They are expressing a sense of loyalty to their nation, and are asking the government to take the time to ask whether signing a free trade pact with the U.S. is truly in the national interest. Nothing is wrong with the following statement: "When negotiations are what they ought to be, it should be clear what we are giving up and what we are gaining, there should be prior national consensus about both the ultimate goal and issues that cannot be conceded, and the country should be presented with a plan for what will be done about the negative effects of the deal if it is implemented."
If the government is pursuing an FTA with the U.S. because such a deal is truly in the national interest, the government should be able to face the National Assembly, the body that represents the people. Excuses about how there is not enough time, or that it has to maintain negotiation secrets, will not work. Korea will have to revise around 100 of its current laws if this deal is ratified. It is therefore not something that should be railroaded due to a pre-set deadline. It is furthermore not something that a few government functionaries and other individuals should be able to pursue in secrecy, simply because they alone believe in it. The more controversial the issue, the more it is necessary to have the majority judge it through open debate, rather than leaving the important decisions to a small minority.
The National Assembly is the highest body in the land for reflecting the views of the people. The very fact these negotiations have been going on without the National Assembly being fully informed is by itself something inconsistent with the principles of democracy. There is something here that our government really needs to learn from the U.S., namely the attitude of the American government as it negotiates free trade agreements under the fully and detailed knowledge of Congress.
