Thanks， Se－min.
Should Seoul join the U.S.－led multilateral trade pact and if so， when would be the
best time？
Joining us live in the studio to break down the pros and cons is LEE Jaemin， professor
of international law at Seoul National University′s School of Law.
Professor Lee， welcome to the program.
After reading through the fine prints of the 6－thousand paged draft， the Korean government
said the TPP is not a whole lot different from the Korea， U.S. bilateral free trade
deal.
There are competing narratives for the TPP.
Professor Lee， what did you make out of the massive trade deal － this is the
largest multilateral trade agreement in history， isn′t it？
VERY DIFFERENT FROM FTAs FTAs deal with tariff reduction TPP includes
this effect PLUS intention to create new trade norms
platform of u.s.
construction of new trade norms The TPP includes some new factors...
such as a standardized place of origin rules， limiting excessive protectionism for state－run
companies and eased rules on e－commerce.
How would the addition of such clauses affect Korea and its trade relations with the rest
of the world？
Creation of new trade norms difficult can sit and wait how this plays out but can′t
take part in creating new trade norms accept template， can only make cosmetic
changes Opinions remain divided on whether Seoul should
join the TPP.
Those who support Korea′s membership argue that staying outside the bloc could undermine
the nation’s competitiveness especially against Japan.
Those on the other side say point to contentious issues such as agriculture， intellectual
property and services and investments.
What are the pros and cons of Seoul joining the TPP？
KOREA SHOULD JOIN TPP 8TH LARGEST TRADING COUNTRY IN
THE WORLD IF WE DON′T PARTICIPATE KOREA WILL BE SYSTEMATICALLY EXCLUDED FROM
THIS IF
WE WERE CHINA， WE COULD SURVIVE BC HUGE MARKET
KOREA MUST JOIN ANY OTHER MEGA FTA FOR THAT MATTER
THEN PROTECT KOREA′S INTEREST South Korea was initially invited to the TPP
negotiating rounds by the U.S. after the successful conclusion of the Korea， U.S. FTA back in
2010.
President Park， during her visit to Washington D.C. last month， indicated Seoul′s willingness
to join TPP.
How do we explain the shift in stance and how should the Korean government go about
from here on to gain the upperhand， so to speak， in negotiations to jump on the bandwagon？
KOREA HAS MADE A MISTAKE GOV′T BUSY MAKING UP FOR LOSSES
VERY LITTLE FOR A LATE－COMER ALREADY A TEMPLATE Thank you， Professor Lee for speaking with
us tonight.
We appreciate it.