SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- Parliamentary Speaker Park Hee-tae said Monday that the time has come to "make a decision" on the free trade deal with the United States, indicating that he could step in to put the much-debated, long-pending bill to a floor vote.

"I don't have any other arbitration plan and can't think of one if there is any. I don't have anything left," Park told reporters on his way to the National Assembly. "It is time to make a decision."

The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) is determined to override opposition parties' objections to passing the trade pact after rounds of talks with the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) over a key clause.

The bill currently sits in the parliamentary trade committee, awaiting a vote to be sent to the plenary session.

In a rare parliamentary visit last week, President Lee Myung-bak offered to renegotiate the contentious investor-state dispute (ISD) settlement clause within three months after the FTA takes effect. But the DP demanded the South Korean government reach a written agreement with Washington stating both sides will immediately launch renegotiation on the issue.

Park criticized the DP's demand for a written statement for renegotiation over the ISD.

His remark came as senior GNP lawmakers reiterated their earlier position over the weekend that they will ask the parliamentary speaker to use his authority to put the bill to a vote in the plenary session.

When asked whether he would put the FTA bill up for consideration upon the ruling party's request, Park said, "People will understand what we have done so far." But he stopped short of saying when he would step in to push forward the legislative process.

The GNP, which holds a comfortable majority in the 299-member unicameral parliament, has been reluctant to railroad the bill, a move that could further anger voters fed up with the partisan clashes that have plagued major pieces of legislation.

Still, it remains unclear whether the GNP will be able to mobilize all of its members to ram through the bill without opposition presence, as some reform-minded and junior members are reluctant to pass it unilaterally, as doing so could cause strong backlash.