Lawmakers of the governing Grand National Party caught the opposition by surprise by calling a snap plenary session. Opposition legislators rushed in but were too late to prevent their rivals from putting the bill to a vote.
In a desperate attempt, one opposition lawmaker detonated a tear gas canister, throwing the National Assembly chamber into chaos. A scuffle erupted, but members of the governing party outnumbered their foes and, while sneezing and wiping tears, passed the deal in a vote of 151 to 7. In the 299-seat National Assembly, 170 members showed up for the vote Tuesday, most of them governing party lawmakers. The opposition members either voted against the bill or abstained.
Glass doors were shattered as legislative aides from the opposition parties tried to barge in, and security guards formed a human barricade.
The government had urged quick approval of the deal, first signed in 2007 but long unratified by either country, arguing that it would help the economy grow. It also said the deal would lessen South Korea’s dependence on trade with China and deepen its alliance with the United States at a time of growing military threats from North Korea.
The opposition argued that the deal would fatten the pockets of big export companies, which dominate the economy, while depriving farmers and small merchants of their livelihoods. Amid widespread distrust of big business and resentment of what is seen as increasing economic inequality, such fears have led thousands of farmers and labor activists to hold almost daily protest rallies outside the Parliament building. In occasional clashes, the police fired water cannons at protesters to stop them from entering Parliament.
“The government will actively pursue measures for farmers and smaller business owners to help improve their competitiveness,” said Choe Guem-nak, the president’s spokesman. “We will also make sure that the free trade agreement will rejuvenate the economy and above all, create jobs for young people.”
Mr. Lee’s rapport with President Barack Obama bore fruit last month when the U.S. Congress passed the free-trade deal by a wide margin despite underlying concerns about the effect it might have on U.S. manufacturing, notably the car industry. The deal was approved by Congress while Mr. Lee was visiting Washington.
“This was an inevitable action we had to take, because we could not make one step of progress in our talks with the opposition, which thought only about its partisan interest,” Kim Ki-hyun, a governing party spokesman, said of the hurried vote. “But we apologize to the people for failing to have a negotiated approval of the deal.”
“We apologize to the people for failing to stop this coup,” said Sohn Hak-kyu, head of the main opposition Democratic Party. “From now on, we will fight to have the deal nullified.”
Farmers’ groups across the country issued statements accusing the government of “giving up our economic sovereignty.”
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement welcoming the bill’s approval that the deal would “pave an economic highway” to the United States and make South Korea a trading hub for Asia, Europe and North America.
South Korea, a major exporter of industrial goods like automobiles and consumer electronics, has aggressively sought free-trade deals and has several in effect, with countries including Chile, India, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union. South Korea hopes the deal with the United States will go into effect Jan. 1, said Cho Byung-jae, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.
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