The South Korean trade minister Kim Jong-hoon has an interview in the LA Times in regards to the status of the US-ROK FTA.  Here is what he had to say in regards to the automobile portion of the FTA that is holding it up from being ratified:

The U.S. says the deal as written fails to address an imbalance between Korean automakers and the U.S. auto industry. They say it gives Korean auto companies guaranteed access to the U.S. market without assurances that American companies can break into the Korean market. Your response?

Nothing can be guaranteed in a market but a level playing competition. The [agreement] contains everything the U.S. asked for during the negotiations; immediate elimination of Korea’s current 8% tariff on autos, flatten the consumption tax to 5% within three years [no differentiation by engine size]. . . . and lenient exceptions for U.S.-made cars in environmental and safety standards. The [U.S. International Trade Commission] report estimated that the agreement would provide a good base to substantially improve U.S. auto companies’ access to the Korean market.

According to statistics from the Korea Importers and Distribution Assn., Korean automakers sold seven times as many cars in the U.S. as American automakers sold in Korea. Is this parity?

Both Korean and American automakers sell cars by exporting and by producing at local subsidiaries. The number of cars sold in such manner in 2008 is: Korea sold in the U.S. 636,960 cars, while the U.S. sold in Korea 109,940 cars. Considering the size of the U.S. auto market, which is 14 times larger than that of Korea, a less than 7 to 1 ratio should not be regarded as unfair.  [LA Times]

The ministers makes some good points, but I think this FTA is dead with the new US administration beholden to the car industry.  With billions of dollars in bailouts given to Chrysler and GM the last thing the administration is going to do is ask them to compete against more competition with so much tax dollars now on the line.