It is not unusual for the National Assembly to drag its feet on key bills. Lawmakers do not even have qualms about breaching the legal deadline for approving the state budget, which puts the financial operations of the government in trouble. Most recently, it failed to redraw the parliamentary constituencies by the deadline, which was Nov. 13.

Given this practice, few had expected the National Assembly would act in due time when the government submitted the bill to ratify the Korea-China free trade agreement in June. Yet, it is frustrating that the parliament has since done virtually nothing.

As public criticism mounts, the rival parties agreed to start work on the bill this week. Under the agreement, the ruling and the main opposition parties formed a joint body with the government. Members of the tripartite body started preliminary discussions and called a full session next week. 

Officials said they hoped that the body would reach an agreement by that time so that they could put the ratification bill to a vote by the parliament during the current session which ends Dec. 9. Their target date is next Thursday.

The timetable is based on the consideration that even after its ratification, it will take some more days for the bill to take effect. Officials hope the free trade pact will go into effect within this year to take full advantage of its tariff cut scheme.

Under the scheme, the first round of tariff cuts starts in the year the pact takes effect, which means if we ratify the pact within this year, we can benefit from the second-round tariff reduction plan in about a month’s time, starting Jan. 1 next year. Likewise, goods whose tariffs are to be removed in five years will benefit from the pact in 2019, if the pact takes effect this year.

This is too valuable a benefit to miss due to parliamentary foot-dragging. Officials said that in the first full year under the trade pact, Korean exports to China, its largest trading partner, were expected to increase by 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) and Korea would save about 6.3 trillion won in customs duties each year once all import duties are eliminated.

The slump in Korean exports -- the nation’s outbound shipments have shrunk for the first time -- and the recent agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- which includes the U.S. and Japan, but not Korea -- add urgency to the need to ratify the Korea-China FTA.

Opposition demands for measures to support those who may suffer under free trade pact with China, including farmers, fishermen and small and medium-sized enterprises, should not be ignored. But they should not be a precondition for parliamentary ratification. Basically, one should be ready to accept a give-and-take approach in things like a free trade regime.