South Korea's parliament subcommittee on Friday voted down the nation's free trade pact with the European Union, frustrating the ruling Grand National Party, which had hoped to get the bill through this month in order to ratify it by July as agreed upon by the two sides.  

After a government briefing on protective measures for local industries, the six-member legislation subcommittee of the Assembly's foreign affairs and trade committee put the trade bill to a standing vote, officials said.

But the bill was rejected by a vote of 3 to 2, with ruling Grand National Party lawmaker Jungwook Hong withdrawing from the vote. 

"I cast a blank ballot in opposition against their move to ram through (the bill) with force," Hong said.

Opposition lawmakers have called for preparing protective measures for the country's hog and dairy industries hit hard by the recent outbreaks of the foot-and-mouth disease. 

The pact was first introduced to the parliamentary committee in October but has since been withdrawn twice as its Korean-language version was riddled with translation errors. 

The European Parliament approved the EU's largest bilateral free trade deal in February.

The GNP controls a majority with 171 seats in the 298-member unicameral parliament.

Rep. Kang Ki-gab of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party
(DLP) strongly opposed the bill, claiming it does not do enough to protect farmers who will be hurt by a surge in imports. His party is supported by the politically vocal farm lobby. 

The trade pact will be presented to the plenary session later Friday for further discussion on how to ratify it, officials noted.

The agreement, if it takes effect, will eliminate 98 percent of import duties and other trade barriers in manufactured goods, agricultural products and services between South Korea and the EU within the next five years. (Yonhap News)