Lee to Meet Assembly Leaders

President Lee has asked for a meeting with leaders of both key parties in the National Assembly to brief them on his summits in the U.S. and Japan, and to make the case for the Assembly to take up the trade agreement in May: Lee to meet Assembly leaders Thursday over FTA (Yoo Cheong-mo, Yonhap News, April 23):

The office of President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday that Lee will hold a luncheon meeting with leaders of the nation's rival parties Thursday to ask for swift parliamentary approval of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (KORUS FTA) and other pending economic reform bills.

"Six to seven top-ranking members each from the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and the main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) will attend the luncheon with the president," said presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.

"President Lee will explain the result of his trip to the U.S. and Japan last week," said the spokesman, indicating the president may ask for bipartisan cooperation for the Assembly's ratification of the long-delayed KORUS FTA.