The National Assembly's Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee on Wednesday passed the free trade agreement with the U.S. in a rare second attempt. But opposition parties are furious, auguring ill for the fate of the bill in the plenary session.

The ruling Grand National Party plans to stop here for the moment and try to lay the bill before the plenary session for final approval after the Korea-U.S. summit in June. The GNP is unlikely to push for final ratification of the bill in the current extraordinary session, fearing it will cause protests as well as put off the U.S. government and Congress. "After the summit between President Lee Myung-bak and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in June, the position of the U.S. government on the FTA will be clearer. Based on the result of the summit, we might then speed up the ratification process or take it slowly," a GNP official said.