Seoul to gather public opinion on FTA with US
Korea Times, 03-02-2006
Seoul to Gather Public Opinion on FTA With US
SEOUL (Yonhap) — In advance of negotiations with the United States on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), the South Korean government said Thursday that it would gather public opinion on the issue through e-mail.
The two nations agreed last month to start discussions in May with the aim of concluding the negotiations by the first half of next year.
While climbing a Seoul mountain with a group of reporters on Sunday, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun vowed to make the FTA talks a top priority during his remaining two years in office.
“The FTA with the United States is certain to heavily affect the future of our economy,” an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s task force on the FTA talks said. “We have decided to collect public opinion on the matter in a bid to make the negotiation process more transparent and to better reflect the peoples’ voice.”
The ministry plans to receive opinion via e-mail (KorUSFTA@ mofat.go.kr) or posted mail until April 28.
