A so-called “free trade deal” between the United States and South Korea goes into effect today following its ratification last year. The deal is the largest trade agreement the United States has signed since the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico in 1994. It has been opposed by numerous labor unions and watchdog groups in the United States. According to Public Citizen, the deal is projected to cost 160,000 American jobs. South Korean farmers and some workers also oppose it, saying it threatens their livelihoods. As the deal came into effect, hundreds of people held a protest in the South Korean capital of Seoul.

Han Seon-bum: “We want to abolish the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which will go into effect tonight. It’s a deal inflicting a loss on our country. Also the deal is unfair, since it’s under American law and above our domestic law.”