South Korean and U.S. negotiators have until June 2007 to hammer out an FTA, and as the clock runs down, President Roh finds himself having to surmount substantial domestic opposition to any deal that would open the country's market to the U.S. Anti-globalization activists oppose the deal from a global perspective, and groups representing Korea's agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors contest that it would threaten Korean companies and Korean jobs.

According to Kim Chulsu, South Korea's former minister of trade, industry and energy, the Roh administration needs to find a way to address these concerns and win opponents' support for an FTA. A U.S.-South Korea FTA, Kim believes, would do much more than liberalize South Korea's economy. Its impact would help strengthen the U.S.-Korea alliance during a period of regional change. Failure to secure an FTA, on the other hand, would inflict serious damage on overall relations between South Korea and the U.S.

Can South Korea's opposition be brought on board for a meaningful FTA? And can it be done in time?

About the speaker

Kim Chulsu served as South Korea's minister of trade, industry and energy from 1993 to 1994 and as deputy director-general of the WTO from 1995 to 1999. For most of the 1980s, Kim was South Korea's top trade negotiator. In 1995 he became the first Korean recipient of The Korea Society's James Van Fleet Award. He is currently senior advisor at Lee International IP and Law Group in Seoul and chairman of the Institute for Trade and Investment, a research and consulting organization affiliated with Lee International.