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Seoul Greets Obama with Firm No on FTA Renegotiation; Moves on to Other FTAs

December 2, 2008

Seoul greeted the election of Barak Obama with the firm stance that it would not consider renegotiating the KORUS FTA. During the campaign, President-elect Obama had referred to the agreement as “badly flawed” and said that he could not support the agreement as it is currently written. In an effort to head off any talk of renegotiation, Korea’s trade minister, Kim Jong-hoon, laid out the Korean position by saying “I repeat that there will be no renegotiation, whether it is automobiles or any other issue.” Much as Obama’s position on the agreement is rooted in domestic concerns related to the beef and automobile industries, Korea’s position is based in its own domestic considerations.

2008 Energy Forum

KEI is pleased to announce that the Energy Forum Papers from the 2008 Northeast Asia Energy Outlook Forum are now available to view online. To view all KEI publications, please visit our publications page where you can search by author, date, title, and keywords.

What's Happening in Korea

Click here to access the latest edition of KEI Insight as well as prior months' editions. KEI insight is a monthly newsletter released at the beginning of each month that covers a broad range of topics related to U.S-Korea relations and the Korean Peninsula.

KORUS FTA RESOURCE CENTER

Click here to access more information related to the KORUS FTA, including academic studies of the agreement, statements by government officials, industry press releases, and topical news stories related to the FTA.