Korean democratic party reiterates opposition to passage of KOR-US FTA

Korean Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu has reiterated that the government and the ruling camp must refrain from unilaterally seeking the ratification of the South Korea-US free trade agreement. During a speech aired by KBS radio on Tuesday, the main opposition party leader called the bill a "humiliating and unequal deal" that resulted after South Korea made further concessions to the US''s unilateral requests through renegotiation. The chairman said his party has laid out its "ten plus two renegotiation offer" to set straight the balance of interest between South Korea and the US and to protect South Korea’s sovereignty. He said the government and the ruling Grand National Party must accept the proposal if they want the ratification of the bill. The DP''s "ten plus two" proposal calls for another renegotiation with the US on ten provisions in the current draft of the pact and two domestic measures that the party believes necessary ahead of the effectuation of the trade pact.