[Editorial] Disclose Everything About FTA Negotiations
Former presidential aide for economic affairs Jeong Tae In has created a stir by revealing the hidden story about the government’s pursuit of negotiations with the United States on a free trade agreement (FTA). He recently went to the president and described in strong terms the dangers of hastily singing an agreement, and now he is taking his case to the people.
You cannot criticize a former public official for speaking plainly about matters when he has left his position. However, some of the things that he said were inappropriate. Speaking about specific individuals he used abusive language in calling some people “pro-American,” accusing one person of “being taken advantage of by Samsung lobbying,” and describing someone else as using “dirty tricks.” He went beyond rational criticism and much of it could be characterized as personal attacks. Claims about the government or economy going to ruin are a far cry from helpful commentary. After upsetting people he said, “Look at the moon, not the finger that points at it,” but it was Jeong who was waving his finger around.
What is more important, however, is the background to the negotiations as revealed in what Jeong said. This is a man who just a year ago was the working-level man responsible for free trade agreements, and he said it is a lie that the FTA with the U.S. was something the government began preparing for two or three years ago. He said also that reducing the “screen quota” was, along with three other U.S. demands, something the government gave in to after just four months. His comments are shocking. They mean that Cheong Wa Dae and a few big bureaucrats forged ahead with the negotiations as if a military operation.
An FTA with the U.S. would have a massive influence on the whole of Korean society and not just the economy. It is not a sports competition you can do well at if you only have confidence, as president Roh Moo Hyun likes to say. Despite the situation the government continues to neglect the work of informing the public of how the negotiations are going and what an FTA’s effects will be. It needs to stop being bound by a pre-determined schedule and engage in transparent and serious discussion through, among other places, the National Assembly. National confusion will be unavoidable unless there is popular inspection and consent.
The Hankyoreh, 8 April 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
Registrated at : 2006-04-08 AM 09:47:29