Lawmakers send letter on SOFA revision to U.S. Embassy

Nine lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties sent a letter Tuesday calling for the revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.

They said in the letter that the SOFA revision should be completed within the tenure of U.S. resident Bill Clinton, as agreed in the Korea-U.S. summit talks held last month in Brunei on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

The lawmakers, including Rep. Oh Se-Hoon of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and Rep. Jong Bum-Goo of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), said that they appreciated the U.S. government¡¯s efforts to protect its nationals with regard to jurisdiction over criminal trials.

But they noted that legal procedures and public sentiment in the host country should be taken into consideration in international negotiations, and that this principle also should be applied to the fields of environment and labor affairs.

The lawmakers also warned that if the negotiations over the SOFA revision are prolonged, it could adversely affect public sentiment in Korea. They said such a situation might have a negative impact on the mutual confidence and friendship that Korea and the United States have built over the years.

Sun Dae-In eodls@donga.com