The trade deal is pending ratification at legislatures on both sides and the recent comment in Seoul comes following leading U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's claim that the deal could hurt key American industries.

Lee Hye-min, director general of the Korea-U.S. FTA at Seoul's Trade Ministry, made the comment during a local radio program in response to Obama's description of the deal as inadequate.

Senator Obama said the bilateral free trade deal does not meet labor and environmental standards and highlighted the need for more attention to key U.S. industries and agriculture.

Lee emphasized that renegotiating the FTA would undermine the Bush administration's credibility since the FTA was signed with the aid of the so-called ''fast track'' authority of President George W. Bush. Fast track authority means the U.S. Congress can approve or disapprove the deal, but not amend it.

Lee, along with other trade ministry officials, indicated that Obama's comments were given with the pulse of U.S. voters in mind and added that Obama is relatively liberal in trade policies compared to his rival Hillary Clinton.

But whether to renegotiate or not still remains to be seen. The FTA is awaiting ratification by lawmakers in both countries.

And the deal remains vulnerable to political time schedules such as the presidential election in the U.S. and upcoming general elections in Korea.

Meanwhile, Korea's president-elect Lee Myung-bak said on Sunday it would be good if the FTA were ratified in the National Assembly's February session in part because early approval would help Korea's economy.

The president-elect added it would be appropriate for the deal to be wrapped up before the Roh Moo-hyun administration hands over the top office on Feb. 25 to mark the current president's achievement.

Arirang News