U.S. envoy talks FTA, security ahead of 100th day

The U.S. ambassador to Korea has stated that the trade pact between the two countries is “vitally important” to both economies amid calls from the Korean opposition party to repeal it.

The Democratic Unity Party is calling for the free trade agreement to be revised, saying the deal contains elements that could damage the Korean economy.

But ambassador Sung Kim called the KORUS FTA a milestone in diplomatic relations and said that both sides were working to review the regulations as quickly as possible.

“Korea and the United States are now in the process of reviewing and discussing our respective laws and regulations,” he said at the Asia Society Korea Center on Feb. 14.

“We are making our best efforts to get this done as quickly as possible, so both countries can begin realizing the benefits of the FTA.”

The pact was ratified by the U.S. in October and by Korea in November but the DUP has pledged to have it repealed in its campaigns for the upcoming elections here.

Saying the agreement was “probably the most important achievement in our bilateral relationship in a generation,” Sung stressed that the agreement would tie both countries together as long-term partners.

“The KORUS FTA covers more than $100 billion of two-way trade in goods and services. It‘s important to realize that KORUS is more than trade statistics. Consumers in both countries will benefit greatly from tariff cuts. So it is vitally important for both economies and is a natural extension of our mature trading relationship,” he added.

In the speech made just before the 100th day of his posting as ambassador here, he also promised continued U.S. military support for South Korea, despite the goal to reduce the number of U.S. installations and facilities from 107 to 48 by about 2016.

“The U.S. will continue to back the defense of the Republic of Korea with full might of the U.S. military,” he said.

“Not only will USFK emerge with a significantly smaller footprint, but the consolidation will increase readiness and efficiency, and reduce costs.”

The ambassador also stressed that Pyongyang’s new leadership under Kim Jeong-un would not sway U.S. policy.

“The United States remains committed to peace and security on the Korean peninsula, denuclearization, the promotion of human rights and the peaceful reunification of Korea,” he said, adding that Washington and Seoul would continue to engage the North in talks to encourage Pyongyang to take: “concrete and irreversible steps toward denuclearization.”

“I cannot stress strongly enough that we have, and will continue, to coordinate with Seoul on every step of our engagement with North Korea. As we have said privately and publicly, if Pyongyang wants a better relationship with the rest of the world, the first stop has to be in Seoul,” he added. 


By Kirsty Taylor
(kirstyt@heraldcorp.com)