Korean Cabinet Approves Corrected FTA Bill

June 10, 2011

On June 3, 2011, the South Korean Cabinet approved the amended version of the Korea FTA (KORUS) implementing bill. Next, the bill will be sent to South Korea’s National Assembly for approval by the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee. It must be voted on by a subcommittee before it can be approved by the full committee, and finally by the Assembly. The bill had almost passed in April when it was abruptly withdrawn from the Parliament because of a translation issue. It now faces some opposition in the Assembly from the Democratic Party, but is expected to pass anyway. The majority party succeeded in passing Korea’s FTA with the European Union, which had also been previously withdrawn for translation issues, last month despite a boycott by the Democratic Party. The Korea FTA still has not yet been submitted to Congress in the U.S. as a result of political disputes over passing of the Colombia FTA and Trade Adjustment Assistance.