South Korean leader boosts free trade during Seattle visit

On his first trip to Seattle, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun proclaimed Saturday that a new free trade agreement with the United States would help his country survive global competition.

Roh, who was on a 24-hour layover, made those comments at a downtown community meeting with about 300 people, a Korean consulate spokesman in Seattle said.

The 61-year-old leader left King County International Airport on Sunday morning and headed to an International Olympic Committee meeting in Guatemala. South Korea is bidding to host the 2014 Winter Games.

During his 90-minute meeting at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, he talked about that effort and his country's economy.

Mostly, though, he talked about the free trade agreement, which U.S. and South Korean negotiators signed Saturday, said P.K. Yuh, the Seattle-based Korean consul.

"He mentioned that in the near future, we can't be certain that the United States would need South Korea as a free trade partner and vice versa," Yuh said.

China and Japan do not have similar agreements with the U.S. government, Yuh added, citing the president's talk, which was delivered in Korean.

"He was certain we could survive the global competition with this free trade agreement."

The agreement would drop tariffs and could boost U.S. farm exports.

Regional observers believe it would boost two-way trade volumes between South Korea and Washington state ports. Already, Korea is the state's fourth-largest trading partner.

But the agreement requires congressional approval, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she opposes it in its current form.

Roh acknowledged that people in both countries have criticized the agreement, said Federal Way Mayor Michael Park, who attended the talk.

"Overall, he said it would be a benefit to both countries," he said.

Last year, Korean and other labor activists took to Seattle's streets to protest the pact.

The agreement fails to take into account certain international standards, such as a ban on prison and child labor, said David Groves, a Washington State Labor Council spokesman.

"I hope he understands that we share the concerns of workers in his own country, who oppose this agreement," Groves said last week.

Roh praised Korean Americans in the state for being good residents and citizens, Yuh said. An estimated 130,000 ethnic Koreans are state residents.

Earlier on Saturday, first lady Kwon Yang-suk met with about 15 people, including representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Korean Counseling Center and Bellevue Seattle Korean School.

She thanked the Gates Foundation for its generous support of the Seoul-based International Vaccine Institute, Yuh said.

The institute, a United Nations initiative, focuses on vaccines for the developing world. In recent years, the Gates Foundation has given the institute tens of millions of dollars.