It appears Korean President Lee Myung-bak really misplayed his hand in regards to his efforts to sign a free trade agreement with the United States:

The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae says it is inappropriate to officially comment on remarks made by the U.S. Trade Representative nominee Ron Kirk during his confirmation hearing.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said Tuesday that the government will hold off on responding to Kirk’s remarks until the nominee is confirmed as the new U.S. Trade Representative.

The official said Seoul believes the current version of the trade deal with the U.S. properly reflects the interests of both countries, adding that the presidential office hopes for a swift ratification of the bilateral trade pact at the National Assembly.

In a Monday confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Kirk said the free trade agreement with South Korea, as it currently stands, is unacceptable.   [KBS Global]

Many readers probably remember that last year Lee took on huge domestic opposition to open the nation’s beef markets to push the FTA forward. 

Now all his efforts appear to be for nothing if the Obama administration is demanding renegotiations.  However, these renegotiations could just be a political show where the Obama administration makes some cosmetic changes, but really doesn’t change anything fundamentally in the agreement.  For its part the Korean government has been consistent in saying they will not renegotiate the FTA.