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. -------------- Kim Hyung-oh -------------- ¶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." �00A;¶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. -------------- Park Hee-tae -------------- ¶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. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶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