Published November 22, 2011
NewsCore
SEOUL – South Korea's parliament Tuesday approved a free trade agreement with the United States, minutes after an opposition legislator set off a tear gas canister in the assembly in protest over the pact.
Television footage showed legislators coughing and wiping their eyes after the canister went off next to the speaker's rostrum, forcing the deputy speaker to flee, AFP reported.
Legislators voted 151-7 in favor of the long-delayed deal, live footage showed, after ruling party members caught the opposition off guard by calling a snap parliamentary session.
The approval of the agreement came about a month after the U.S. Congress signed off on it, Yonhap news agency reported, adding that Seoul and Washington hoped the deal would go into effect as of Jan. 1.
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