Leading members of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee are to have one-on-one meetings with U.S. Congressional counterparts to boost prospects for the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement’s ratification, officials said Monday.
Reps. Nam Kyun-pil, Gu Sang-chan and Jungwook Hong ― all members of the committee and strong supporters of the KORUS FTA ― will leave for the U.S. within the week.
The lawmakers will focus on individual communication with influential Congress members instead of their usual group visit to Washington, D.C., officials said.
Committee chairperson Nam will be attending, upon his arrival in New York on Thursday, a gathering organized by the Korean-American Medical Association, together with Rep. Dan Burton who chairs the pro-Korea U.S. lawmakers’ group.
The two are also to hold a private dinner meeting on Friday, during which Nam will ask for Burton’s support in ratifying the FTA.
Through this series of events, Nam is not only to seek a parliamentary drive for the FTA but also reinforce communication channels with the local Korean community, officials said.
Gu will be reaching Washington on Friday to meet with Sung Kim, the U.S. ambassador-nominee to South Korea. The lawmaker also held talks with Rep. Karen Bass last Saturday.
Hong will be meeting with Reps. Charles Rangel, Joseph Crowley and Tom Reed in New York, sources said. Rangel is a leading pro-Korean U.S. lawmaker.
While all three lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party strive to push the trade pact, Rep. Shin Nak-yun of the main opposition Democratic Party will also be attending similar meetings with U.S. counterpart.
Her visit, however, will be aiming to figure out the U.S. lawmakers’ view of the ratification, not to push it forward, according to officials.
The FTA, signed back in 2007 and settled last December, presently awaits parliamentary approvals in both countries.
While the opposition camp here recently pledged to veto its ratification in the June plenary session, the GNP plans to pass the bill in late June or early July, in step with the U.S. Congress.
“The people have reached a general consensus on the necessity of the FTA,” said Nam Kyung-pil, shortly before the June session kicked off.
The DP chairman Sohn Hak-kyu, however, refuted that the current free trade bill should be modified for the best interest of the country and of the people, though the processes may take more time.
By Bae Hyun-jung (
tellme@heraldcorp.com)
