SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) - South Korea's ruling Grand National Party (GNP) presented a long-pending free trade agreement with the U.S. to a parliamentary committee Friday in the first step toward its ratification despite objections from opposition parties.

The trade pact, signed in 2007 and supplemented last December, has been awaiting approval from the legislatures of the two countries.

The deal is one of the most contentious issues in the South Korean parliament. The GNP calls for an early ratification, while the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) claims the deal favors the U.S. and should be renegotiated.

The rival parties had earlier agreed to keep pace with the U.S.

Congress in handling the bill.