The government and ruling Grand National Party agreed Friday to work together to pass the long-delayed free trade pact with the United States later this month and to prepare strong safeguards for local industry before endorsing the deal, party officials said.

The GNP and the government have been stepping up efforts to get the deal passed by the parliament after the U.S. Congress gave it final approval during President Lee Myung-bak’s state visit to Washington last week. Opposition parties are against the agreement, however, claiming it favors the U.S.

Senior Cabinet members and GNP legislators gathered at the National Assembly Friday to discuss support measures for local industries and agreed to increase the government subsidies for agriculture and fishery industries that could be affected by cheap imported goods, GNP spokesman Kim Ki-hyun said.

Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik stressed the deal’s benefits for South Korea’s economy and called for cooperation between the legislature and the government to reach an agreement to approve the pact.

“The (FTA) will reinforce the Korea-U.S. alliance to set a foundation for strong security and also make the world’s biggest market our economic territory,” Kim said. “The government has prepared countermeasures to protect the agriculture industry and to strengthen competitiveness. We will make the utmost effort to make them more effective.”

Chief trade negotiator Kim Jong-hoon said a majority of South Koreans favor the deal that would boost local economy and create more jobs.

“As far as I know, all public surveys showed there were more proponents for the South Korea-U.S. FTA than opponents,” Trade Minister Kim said, asking for bipartisan compromise so the pact can be ratified this month and go into effect in January.

“The U.S. has completed all preparations for the pact to go into effect,” Kim said. “I think the time has come for us to wrap up the (approval process) that has lasted four and a half years.”

The main opposition Democratic Party is calling for additional safeguards for local industries before endorsing the pact, while the minor progressive Democratic Labor Party said it would “employ any possible means” to stop the ratification process.

Earlier this week, a group of opposition lawmakers occupied the parliamentary trade committee room to block the GNP’s move to pass the deal and send it to a plenary session for a vote.

GNP legislator Nam Kyung-pil, who heads the trade committee, said he will stand against any attempts to use violence to block the legislative process.

“If DLP lawmakers physically block the FTA ratification bill, I will strongly block the move to proceed with the process, using the chairman’s authority given by the National Assembly,” Nam said in a party meeting.

The ruling party has a solid majority of 171 seats in the 299-member parliament. With by-elections, including the Seoul mayoral vote, set for Wednesday, it has been reluctant to drive the law through parliament and risk scuffles at the National Assembly, which have previously embarrassed people during contentious debates. 

(Yonhap News)