GNP LEADERS REVIEW BEEF, FTA RATIFICATION, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001490

SIPDIS

USTR FOR CUTLER, TRICK, AND YOO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/29/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR ETRD KN KS
SUBJECT: GNP LEADERS REVIEW BEEF, FTA RATIFICATION, AND
OTHER NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PRIORITIES

Classified By: AMB Alexander Vershbow. Reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On July 23 the Ambassador met with National
Assembly Speaker Kim Hyung-oh and newly-elected Grand
National Party (GNP) Chair Park Hee-tae. The amicable
meetings focused on the beef issue and the KORUS FTA. Both
Kim and Park expressed appreciation for U.S. efforts to
defuse the beef issue and reaffirmed their party's commitment
to the FTA. The discussion with Park was more substantive
and covered a range of issues including intra-party relations
and the GNP's legislative priorities. Park noted the
difficulty caused by the shooting death of a South Korean
woman at Mt. Kumgang and asked for U.S. support in resolving
the issue. Park's and Kim's leadership of the GNP gives them
a degree of control over the party's message, but other
political heavyweights within the party -- notably Park
Geun-hye, Chung Mong-joon, and Lee Sang-deuk -- may not fall
in line as easily as the leadership would like. End Summary.

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Kim Hyung-oh
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2. (C) The Ambassador began the meeting with Kim Hyung-oh by
congratulating Kim on his recent election as Speaker of the
National Assembly. Kim noted that the U.S. and the ROK had
made progress on many issues during the Ambassador's tour
here, including the symbolic and important destruction of the
cooling tower at Yongbyon and the conclusion of the KORUS FTA
negotiations.


3. (C) Kim expressed regret that the last National Assembly
had not ratified the FTA and said he would take personal
responsibility for its passage during his term as Speaker.
Kim said he was aware of and grateful for President Bush's
efforts to ratify the FTA in the U.S. An inter-parliamentary
council -- comprised of two opposition and two ruling party
members -- is traveling to the U.S. later this month to have
discussions about the FTA. Ambassador Vershbow noted that
this was a good idea as the recent beef protests had raised
concerns among some in the U.S. about how committed Korea is
to free trade. "I will take a leadership role to ratify the
FTA as soon as possible," Kim assured the Ambassador. Kim
said he hoped President Bush would do the same in the United
States; "Korea will ratify first," he said, "but the gap
should be as short as possible."


4. (C) Kim said he wanted to extend his gratitude to the
U.S. for making every effort to understand Korea's situation
during the beef protests. He said the beef agreement was
sound, but the ROKG could never ignore the emotions of the
South Korean people. The Korean people, he surmised, had
learned a lot from the protests and from the recent
revelations of media disinformation in the run-up to and
during the demonstrations.


5. (C) Kim remarked that the National Assembly audit of the
beef negotiations seemed to be in full swing; he said that
"as the truth about U.S. beef and the exaggerations become
clear, I believe the truth can be established." The
Ambassador noted our appreciation for the GNP's efforts to
keep the U.S. Embassy from being drawn into the parliamentary
audit, as the opposition had requested; that was not the
place to review diplomatic communications. Kim noted that in
recent years there have been a number of misunderstandings
related to the U.S.; the GNP and the government should work
harder to convince the Korean people that the U.S. is a
friend to Korea. Park Kye-dong, the Speaker's Chief
Secretary, said the GNP would do everything it could to
strengthen relations with the U.S. He noted that
anti-Americanism started in the 1980s, but the Lee Myung-bak
Government was committed to improving relations.

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Park Hee-tae
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6. (C) The Ambassador met GNP Chief Park Hee-tae at the
party headquarters and in front of a giant mural picturing

the Liancourt Rocks. Park Hee-tae also thanked the
Ambassador for the improvement in the alliance over the last
three years. The Ambassador said that there have been
challenges, but that the relationship was in very good shape.



7. (C) Park said he strongly appreciated U.S. cooperation in
resolving the controversy over beef. Asked if the opposition
was now ready to cooperate in the National Assembly, Park
said he thought they would since the GNP had accepted most of
their demands, including the establishment of five special
committees, one of which will cover beef. The Democratic
Party (DP) would need to "forget the sweet memory of the
candlelight vigils quickly." Once U.S. beef got back onto
store shelves, he thought consumer behavior would change
quickly. Consumers were flexible. He said this could "put
candlelight vigils in an awkward position." Representative
Chun Yu-ok, also in attendance, added that it was now clear
the distortions in the original MBC "PD Diary" report (the
April 29 TV documentary that triggered the protests) were
"more than mistranslation;" as the facts came to light, she
noted, hopefully it would make people "respond in a mature
manner" to similar accusations in the future.


8. (C) Turning to the FTA, which he characterized as the
"next step" after beef, Park said he hoped to get it ratified
soon and before the end of the year. The GNP was trying its
best. Park said he was hopeful of getting support for FTA
ratification from the DP; while DP Chair Chung Sye-kyun was
"setting preconditions, like beef." Ultimately, Park noted,
the KORUS FTA "was a progressive government deal, so they
should take the lead on ratification." Park added that Chung
"is not opposed to the FTA."


9. (C) In response to the Ambassador's question, Park said
the most important legislative issues for the National
Assembly to address were to start working on the budget and
to pass measures aiding lower income families. The latter
was essential to relieve the burden that the current economic
climate puts on the less fortunate. Park said the GNP had
addressed most of the demands the opposition DP has made, and
now they needed bi-partisan cooperation in order to enact
economic reforms; if not, the public would blame the
opposition for not cooperating. The basis of democracy, Park
opined, was to have the political parties cooperate; he was
optimistic about working with DP Chair Chung Sye-kyun, with
whom Park has worked for the last 12 years in the assembly.
Chung, Park said, is known as a "gentleman."


10. (C) The Ambassador told Park that the U.S. supports ROK
efforts to persuade the North to open an investigation into
the shooting of a South Korean woman at Mt. Kumgang. Park
said that the Kumgang incident had made an impact on people's
attitudes toward the North. Most people still think that
inter-Korean talks should re-open, but the DP is trying to go
back to the Sunshine Policy, and that, Park said, will not
work. Park asked for the Ambassador's support in settling
the Kumgang issue.


11. (C) In response to the Ambassador's questions about
intra-party relations, Park (who is close to President Lee)
said that he would lead the party in such a way as to remove
factional conflict and create party unity. Although most
pro-Park members of the assembly had been admitted to the
GNP, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye needed to learn to work
hand-in-hand like brother and sister.

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Comment
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12. (C) Kim's and Park's positions and the GNP's dominance
in the National Assembly (180 out of 299 seats) give them a
significant amount of control over the legislative agenda.
They should be able to push through the FTA and shore up
President Lee by providing a voice of reason from Yoido.
That said, they must get their house in order first; Park
Hee-tae's vows of party unity notwithstanding, the factional
divide within the GNP is unlikely to disappear overnight.

To boot, until President Lee can build up his support rate to
the high 20s (it is currently hovering in the high teens),it
may be difficult for the ruling party to push through
noteworthy legislation. End Comment.
VERSHBOW