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The Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA), on which a vote has been blocked three times due to opposition from legislators from agricultural regions, is scheduled to be laid before a National Assembly plenary session Monday. Cheong Wa Dae and the government have not tried at all to convince rural legislators, however, and as it stands, some worry that it might be difficult once again to bring the bill to a vote.
Legislators from agricultural districts said Friday, "Concerning the FTA vote, we have not been contact by President Roh Moo-hyun, Cheong Wa Dae officials, or relevant ministers or ministries, not have they tried to persuade us to cooperate in passing the bill. Don't we need justification that can persuade the farmers?"
MDP representative Lee Jeong-il said, "Assembly Speaker Park Kwan-yong has asked us to cooperate several times, like when he sat down with us for lunch Thursday, but President Roh only came to the National Assembly once to meet with the four party heads. We've never received a request to cooperate from the President's chief of staff, his secretaries, Prime Minister or relevant ministries or ministers." He went on to ask, "If it's that important of a national agenda, doesn't the President himself has to come down directly and offer solutions and try to persuade us [to go along with his initiative]?" GNP representative Yun Han-do said, "We've received no requests to cooperate from either Cheong Wa Dae, the cabinet, or party leadership. I know that farmers have reached their limit, and if I can just give them some justification [for the bill], then things might be fine, but nobody's making the effort. As it stands now, I'm going to oppose a vote on Feb. 16."
Rep. Lee Yang-hee, the head of the National Assembly's Committee for Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, said "Speaker Park advised the government and the rural legislators to find points of compromise. On Thursday, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Heo Sang-man sat down with some of the legislators from farming and fishing villages. But since the Agriculture and Forestry Minister doesn't allocate the budget, the meeting didn't help much."
President Roh, discussing his ability to run the country with the ruling party a minority in the National Assembly, said "If I do it American-style, it'll work," indicating that he himself would come out to persuade the legislature directly on his policy initiatives. Some point out, however, that he has not made good on that promise at all. Before a major Congressional vote in the United States, it has become customary for the President to take a roll call from the White House on how legislators will vote, and call or sit down with those Congressmen who oppose White House-backed legislation in an effort to persuade them to go along with the bill.
(Kwon Kyeong-bok, kkb@chosun.com )
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