HONOLULU/SEOUL (Yonhap News) -- President Lee Myung-bak made yet another pitch for parliamentary ratification of the free trade agreement with the United States, stressing that the pact is a "survival strategy" that will help the country tide over global economic crises.
Lee and his ruling Grand National Party have been intensifying efforts to approve the trade pact that they believe will boost exports, create jobs and strengthen the alliance with Washington.
The U.S. Congress gave the deal final approval during Lee's state visit last month.
The two countries hope the accord will go into effect as of Jan. 1.
But the pact has been stuck in political limbo in parliament as the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has been demanding a revision, claiming that the deal favors the U.S., especially its dispute-settlement clause, known as investor-state dispute (ISD) settlement.
"The Korea-U.S. FTA will enlarge our economic territory and serve as a driving force in surmounting crises," Lee said during his biweekly radio address. "The FTA should never fall victim to political calculations. The agreement is a survival strategy for our country," he said.
Lee has been in Hawaii for an annual summit of Asia-Pacific economies.
In the radio address, Lee said that forging free trade pacts with foreign nations, especially with the United States, has been a top priority of Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced Friday that Tokyo will join negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP, which has been under negotiation among the U.S. and eight other nations.
"The expansion of free trade will go a long way toward promoting the progress of the global economy. Once again, I urge both the ruling and opposition parties to work toward ratifying the Korea-U.S. FTA for the sake of our nation's future," Lee said.
In an unusual move, Lee is scheduled to visit the National Assembly on Tuesday to try to persuade the opposition party to approve the agreement. It will be the first time he visits the National Assembly to try to influence lawmakers on a specific issue
Later Monday in Seoul, Presidential Chief of Staff Yim Tae-hee and senior presidential secretary Kim Hyo-jae paid a courtesy call to DP leader Sohn Hak-kyu, who still demands renegotiation of controversial provisions, to persuade him to meet Lee during his parliamentary visit.
"There are speculations within the party that Lee's visit is part of an attempt to build justification to railroad the (FTA)," Sohn told the two presidential aides. "If (Lee) comes empty-handed, he will have to leave empty-handed."
Lee had originally planned to visit parliament on Friday, but delayed the plan until after his trip to Hawaii for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to take more time to persuade opposition lawmakers who had refused to meet with him.
