South Korea's rival political parties showed mixed reactions Monday after Seoul and Beijing announced the conclusion of free trade talks between the countries.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the deal during a summit meeting in Beijing earlier in the day, wrapping up negotiations that began in May 2012.
Under the free trade agreement (FTA), South Korea will eliminate its tariffs on 79 percent of all products, or 9,690 items, imported from China within 10 years following the implementation of the deal. China, meanwhile, will eliminate its import duties on 71 percent, or 5,846 products, shipped from South Korea over the same period.
The ruling Saenuri Party welcomed the deal.
"By concluding an FTA with China, following those with the United States and the European Union, a global FTA network linking North America, Europe and Asia has been formed," Rep. Kim Young-woo, the ruling party's senior spokesman, said during a press briefing.
"Despite our small territory, we have become an FTA powerhouse claiming 73 percent of the world's economic territory and secured a leading status in economic integration."
The Saenuri Party will work to maximize the benefits of the new FTA and minimize potential damage to the agriculture and livestock sectors, he added.
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), however, questioned the benefits of the FTA.
"We expect to see exports in IT and automobiles rise, but we must take note of the high proportion of local production and the fact that tariffs on refined oil and chemical products are not high as well as the fact that there is an oversupply in China," Rep. Yoo Ki-hong, NPAD's senior spokesman, said in a separate press briefing.
"The Park Geun-hye administration cannot escape criticism that it hastily concluded such a milestone as the South Korea-China FTA in time for the summit." (Yonhap)
