Lee calls on parliament to ratify FTA

President vows to increase spending on infrastructure, welfare, women and elderly


President Lee Myung-bak on Monday called for swift parliamentary ratification of the Korea-U.S. free trade pact and defense reform bills in an administrative policy speech at the National Assembly.

“The U.S. Congress is set to complete ratification with (my) official state visit this week,” Lee said in the address read by Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, days after the government submitted next year’s state budget bill to the National Assembly.

“I ask our National Assembly to promptly endorse (the FTA) in consideration of national interests.”

The main opposition Democratic Party has demanded a renegotiation of the bilateral free trade agreement, which was signed in 2007 and revised late last year.

Lee’s office announced the president’s official state visit to the U.S. a month ahead, pressuring the DP to ratify the FTA. Lee is scheduled to deliver a speech to the U.S. Congress on Thursday during his four-day state visit starting Tuesday.

Once the Korea-U.S. FTA is endorsed by both countries’ parliaments, Korea will be the only country to have free trade agreements with the world’s three largest economic blocs ― the U.S., the European Union and the ASEAN.

While reiterating Seoul’s plan to achieve a balanced budget by 2013, Lee also said Monday that next year’s budget will be focused on investing in social overhead capital such as infrastructure, research and development, and education.

Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik delivers a policy speech during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)

The government has earmarked 3.26 trillion won for next year’s budget, 5.5 percent more than this year’s spending. Next year’s fiscal revenue is estimated to increase by 9.5 percent.

“Thanks to such efforts, state debts will account for 32.8 percent of the gross domestic product next year, 2.3 percentage points less than this year, and will go down to the pre-crisis level in 2013,” Lee said.

Lee underscored his government’s plans to support start-up ventures by the young, boost employment of high school graduates, increase jobs related to culture, tourism, overseas development aid and social welfare.

He also vowed to get the government to partially pay for national pension and employment insurance of low-income workers, and expand welfare benefits for childcare, education, culture, housing and medical care.

Lee stressed that the global economic woes touched off by the fiscal crises in the U.S. and Europe can be turned into an opportunity for Korea to strengthen its economic fundamentals, while warning against excessive anxiety.

Reaffirming his North Korea policy principles of pushing for the country’s denuclearization while providing humanitarian aid to infants and children across the border, Lee championed the need to financially prepare for reunification with the North. Lee had proposed introducing “unification tax” in his Liberation Day speech last year, but no follow-up steps have been taken so far.

The president also pledged to make next year’s general and presidential elections the “cleanest and fairest ever” in the republic’s history, and root out corruption and irregularities “with no time limit.” The prosecution is undergoing investigations into bribery allegations implicating some of his closest aides.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)