SKorean parliamentary committee approves US FTA
Associated Press | 2009-04-22
SKorean parliamentary committee approves US FTA
A South Korean lawmaker says a parliamentary committee has approved a free trade agreement with the United States, paving the way for the deal to be voted on by the entire legislature.
The approval was announced Wednesday by Park Jin, the chairman of the National Assembly’s trade committee.
South Korea and the U.S. signed the accord in 2007, but the ratification process has been slow amid opposition in both countries.
Both governments tout the agreement as a boon to trade and a further cementing of close ties between key security allies.
The agreement is the biggest for the U.S. since the North American Free Trade Agreement in the 1990s.
It requires ratification by lawmakers in both countries to take effect.
