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Assembly committee adopts resolution on Japan's trade curbs

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National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, second from left, and floor leaders of three political parties pose before holding a meeting at Moon's office in the National Assembly, Monday. From left are Reps. Lee In-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Moon, Na Kyung-won of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and Oh Shin-hwan of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party. Yonhap
National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, second from left, and floor leaders of three political parties pose before holding a meeting at Moon's office in the National Assembly, Monday. From left are Reps. Lee In-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Moon, Na Kyung-won of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and Oh Shin-hwan of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party. Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

The National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee adopted a resolution Monday calling for Japan to withdraw its trade retaliation against South Korea, before holding a series of meetings with U.S. and Japanese lawmakers this week.

The committee, led by Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), adopted the resolution unanimously after reviewing several draft resolutions submitted earlier by groups of lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the LKP and the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BMP).

The adoption has been in line with efforts of the country's major parties to counter Japan's trade restrictions on some key components vital for South Korea's manufacture of high-tech products such as semiconductors and panel displays. Last week, leaders of five political parties met with President Moon Jae-in and released a statement calling for Japan to withdraw the restrictions.

The eight-member delegation, led by Rep. Chung Sye-kyun of the DPK, a former National Assembly speaker, will pass on a copy of the resolution to U.S. and Japanese lawmakers during an upcoming visit to Washington, D.C., starting from Wednesday. The planned trip to Capitol Hill is gaining attention because it is the first official meeting between Korean, Japanese and U.S. lawmakers since the imposition of the trade restrictions by Tokyo.

The delegation includes Reps. Lee Sooh-yuck and Park Kyung-mi of the DPK, Yoo Ki-june, Kim Se-yeon and Choi Gyo-il of the LKP and Yu Eui-dong and Lee Sang-don of the BMP.

"The delegation plans to stress the unfairness of the Japanese action during their meetings with them, as the restrictions will undermine the relations between South Korea and Japan and have had a negative impact on fair and free trade principles, as well as the global economy. The delegation also plans to urge Japan to stop proliferating fake news regarding the retaliatory measure," a senior DPK lawmaker said.

Mark Takano of the U.S. Democratic Party, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and former representatives Dan Maffei and Dennis Hertel will attend the meeting with South Korean representatives, party officials said.

Masaharu Nakagawa, an independent Lower House representative, and Kuniko Inoguchi, a member of the Upper House from Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), will represent the Japanese side. Kozo Yamamoto, a Lower House member of the LDP; Naokazu Takemoto, a Lower House member of the LDP; Kaname Tajima, a Lower House member of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ); Hiroe Makiyma, an Upper House member of the Constitutional Democratic Party; Yoshinori Suematsu, a Lower House member of DPJ; and Kiyohiko Toyama, a Lower House member of the Komeito; will also present at the meeting.

In the meantime, leaders of Korea's three leading political parties failed to reach an agreement to hold a plenary session due to differences over the passage of an extra budget bill for use in enhancing the competitiveness of South Korea-manufactured parts, materials and equipment.



Park Ji-won jwpark@koreatimes.co.kr


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