Majority of S Koreans view FTA talks with US negatively: poll
Hankyoreh, Korea
Majority of S. Koreans view FTA talks with U.S. negatively: poll
6 July 2006
Seoul. (Yonhap News) More than half of all South Koreans have a negative view of their government’s free trade talks with the United States, according to a poll released Thursday.
The poll by state-run KBS radio found that 52 percent of South Koreans said that if such an agreement with the U.S. were adopted their country would receive fewer benefits than its long-serving ally.
In contrast, 27.4 percent of respondents said the proposed deal would see South Korea prosper more than the U.S..
The telephone poll of 1,000 adults was conducted with a 3.1 percentage point margin of error.
The poll comes as South Korea and the U.S. are due to begin their second round of free trade talks next week in Seoul.
Opponents vow to block the deal, however, arguing that it would threaten the livelihoods of farmers and factory workers if finalized.
More than 100,000 South Korean farmers and activists plan to stage protests next week, according to Park Seok-won, head of the Korean Alliance Against the Korea-U.S. FTA, a nationwide group representing 282 farmers’ organizations,labor unions and civic movement groups.
