USTR to explore S.Korea auto options in Detroit

* Deal was signed in June 2006 when Bush still in office

* Obama says wants deal approved if Kirk can fix

* U.S. negotiator visited Seoul in December

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk will discuss options for resolving auto trade concerns that have long blocked approval of a free trade agreement with South Korea when he meets in Detroit on Friday with industry leaders, a U.S. trade official said.

The trip takes Kirk to the epicenter of U.S. opposition to the free trade deal, which the two countries signed nearly three years ago under then-President George W. Bush.

Ford (F.N), Chrysler and the United Auto Workers union say the pact fails to tear down non-tariff barriers that have kept American cars out of the South Korean market for years.

Seoul says those complaints are exaggerated and notes it will immediately eliminate an 8 percent tariff on U.S. autos under the agreement, while the United States is allowed to phase out its remaining 2.5 percent tariff over three years.

General Motors [GM.UL], which is the principal owner of GM Daewoo in South Korea, has been neutral on the pact.

Obama, in his recent State of the Union speech to Congress, said he wanted closer trade ties with South Korea, Colombia and Panama but stopped short of asking lawmakers to vote for the pending trade pacts with those countries.

In a subsequent interview with BusinessWeek magazine, Obama was clearer that he wants Congress to approve the pacts but said the timing was largely in Kirk's hands.

"Whether I can get all three done or any one of them done this year, in part, is going to depend on the conversations between our U.S. Trade Representative and his counterpart in those three other countries," Obama said.

A U.S. trade official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Kirk and his staff would meet with auto industry leaders and workers on Friday to hear their concerns and discuss how they might be addressed.

Kirk, who is giving a speech to the Detroit Economic Club, also will meet with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Representatives Sandy Levin and John Dingell of Michigan, who have also demanded changes to the South Korean pact.

Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler, who led the South Korea trade talks for the United States, visited Seoul in December after Obama's trip to that country.

However, the Obama administration has not yet given South Korea any proposal for addressing the auto concerns because it is still consulting with Congress and other stakeholders.

U.S. trade officials also refuse to set any deadline -- such as the third anniversary of the agreement's signing on June 30 -- for resolving concerns with South Korea.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Eric Beech)