Thousands of South Korean farmers protested on Wednesday a sweeping free trade agreement with the United States ahead of a review this week by the two sides.
The deal reached in April would be the biggest US trade pact in 15 years but has raised hackles from South Korean farmers who see it costing them thousands of jobs and US automakers fearful of being swept aside by a fresh wave of Korean imports.
Seoul said there will not be any major changes to the pact. "We are planning to proceed with a signature of the accord on June 30," a South Korean trade official said referring to a date previously set by the two sides.
The call to re-examine the agreement came from a deal US congressional Democrats reached with the White House last month that grants the Republican Bush administration a special authority to cut trade deals in exchange for adding enforceable labour and environmental provisions into those pacts.
A small team of US trade negotiators will arrive in Seoul on Thursday for talks some South Korean officials say privately are less about the deal and more about domestic US politics.
During their talks in Seoul, the two will review seven sectors, including the contentious category of pharmaceuticals. South Korean officials have gone out their way to describe the talks as a consultation and not renegotiations.
South Korean business and government leaders said the pact would help raise industrial standards to global levels and give the country a leg up on trade in the world's biggest economy over its Asian rivals China and Japan. Surveys in April show over 60 percent of respondents in the country favour the pact while some 30 percent are opposed.
The deal is expected to grow South Korea's economy as much as 6 percent over the next 10 years and create 340,000 jobs, government-affiliated think tanks said. But opening the market would hit hard South Korea's heavily protected farmers.
"If agricultural products come in from other countries, it will be the end for us. Our livelihood is in danger. How am I going to live?" said Shin Pil-joo, one of the farmers who attended the rally in front of Seoul City Hall.
Critics admit passage through South Korea's parliament seems inevitable and have called on President Roh Moo-hyun to draft measures that will aid farmers. US lawmakers have warned that the deal, the biggest since the North America Free Trade Agreement was signed in December 1992, would face difficulty in getting required congressional approval unless parts are revised.
US lawmakers from auto-producing states want to put the brakes on a deal they see giving South Korea a clear advantage while some from farm states have called on Seoul to fully open its market to beef imports before supporting the deal.