New South Korean president urges ratification of FTA

Newly elected South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said this week during a visit to New York that legislators in the United States and Korea should quickly ratify a proposed free trade agreement between the two countries.

The free trade agreement, signed by both nations last June, has stalled at the congressional approval level.

The FTA would be beneficial for both countries," Lee said during a weeklong trip to the United States and Japan. "For Korea, the deal would expand its export market and improve its economic system. The United States can advance its developed service industry to Korea, which will also serve as a bridgehead for entering the dynamically developing East Asian markets.

The Korea Herald reported Wednesday that Lee's predecessor, Roh Moo-hyun, was chastised as weakening economic ties with the United States even though the FTA was signed under his watch.

Despite the number of significant deals he struck with Washington -- including a free trade agreement and the decision to deploy troops to Iraq and Afghanistan -- was held responsible for a weaker relationship with the United States, the newspaper reported.

But Lee said the time for delay should be over.

Lately, there have been voices of concern over a possible weakening in the alliance, he said. This is because the U.S.-South Korean ties were politicized and ideologically abused, and not viewed in the sense of a long-term alliance. 

Source: American Shipper