President Roh Moo Hyun's advisors have given him some honest counsel. Gyeongbuk University professor Lee Jeong U, former economic secretary Jeong Tae In, and others met with Roh over lunch over the weekend and expressed their concerns over the risks involved in signing a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States and called on him to proceed with caution.
Even more serious than opening the agricultural market and reducing or removing the "screen quota" is the market for services such as education and medical care. They are closely tired to the public's interest and welfare, and Roh's advisors told him to expect considerable negative side effects if they are opened up as part of an FTA. Reportedly someone made the extreme statement that there could be a national disaster if the agreement is pursued in a hasty fashion. They stated it as "proceed with prudence," but you sense far deeper concern.
Professor Lee was once the head of Cheong Wa Dae's policy office, the man who organized the "100 policy tasks for the Participatory Government." Jeong was once a key economic advisor. You can expect that they put a lot of time into their ideas before going to the president; Roh recently expressed his determination by saying that the FTA could be derailed because of "resistance from interest groups," so it is not as if anyone would go to him conveying different ideas without being thoughtful.
When the government announced earlier this month that it had begun the negotiations, we stated the position that since negotiations had started they should proceed, but that we could end up hurting our interests if the process was concluded in a hasty fashion. The government, however, has been disregarding and ignoring those asking questions about the process, and acts as if Korea has met a once in a lifetime opportunity. According to U.S. laws, any FTA has to be settled on by March of next year, so the timetable is a tight one. You really wonder how Korea will be able to negotiate with strength when it looks like it is obsessed with signing an agreement. We hope to see the advice given the president lead to cool-headed thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of an FTA with the USA and negotiating strategies.
The Hankyoreh, 27 February 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Presidential Aides Worried About FTA With USA |
