“Part of the pact may not be good for one side, but the free trade deal is a balanced agreement which reflects the interests of both sides,” Lee Hye-min, deputy minister for the FTA, told reporters. “The new administration of the United States will come to recognize that the FTA promises balanced results for both countries.”
“If [the U.S.] requests a renegotiation because of a certain area [automobiles] it would be like opening Pandora’s box as the countering party can also find faults,” Lee added.
Wait, my title isn't exactly true. South Korea won't renegotiate anything the US wants to renegotiate; remember it already forced a renegotiation of the agreement on importing US beef based on fears of product tainted with Mad Cow Disease. Moreover, even after renegoatiation trucking companies refused to transport the US beef.
On that point here's an even better soundbite from Lee, from the KT:
Seoul's top trade negotiator Lee Hye-min made it clear Wednesday that it would be difficult for Seoul and Washington to renegotiate the deal, saying it ``goes against international customs.'' Trying to renegotiate the text when it has been signed and awaiting ratification by the National Assembly and the Congress is inappropriate, he added.
LOL. The President-elect is right to be concerned about imbalanced trade agreements between the US and its partners. And after the anti-beef, anti-government, anti-US protests we watched this spring and summer, Koreans must be dreaming if they think they can now demand the FTA as-is. Nevertheless, that didn't stop the Korea Times from writing in June that Obama merely has a "bad impression of Korea," as if he's an ignorant buffon just waiting to get himself targetted by VANK. A new look at the FTA from the American side might want to make automobiles the US's version of rice. Rice was an obstacle in the earlier negotiations. Said Lee Hye-min last year:
"Every round we have reiterated that rice is not up for discussion," said Lee Hye-min, Seoul's deputy chief negotiator. "There's no change. You have to keep in mind that it's that much of a sensitive subject."
Automobiles are a sensitive subject for Americans, and Koreans will have to understand our unique culture. *cough* Clearly, trying to rush the FTA now is an attempt to save a little face and make the US look responsible for killing the deal, a deal that has been widely protested and held up over here for years, by the way.
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