DETROIT, Mich. -- Presidential candidate John Edwards on Saturday opposed a free trade agreement between the United States and South Korea, telling Michigan Democrats it would be bad for the auto industry.

The deal needs the approval of both countries' lawmakers. It would immediately eliminate U.S. tariffs on Korean vehicles, Edwards said, but leave in place a discriminatory tax based on engine size that disproportionately affects American cars.

"There are so many more Korean cars sold in the United States than are sold in Korea," Edwards told about 2,000 Democrats gathered at their annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner at Cobo Center in Detroit.

He added that South Korean workers are thrown in jail for fighting for decent wages.

"We need trade that works for American workers, which means there need to be real labor standards, real environmental standards" in the deal, Edwards said during a 38-minute speech.

The former U.S. senator and vice presidential candidate from North Carolina praised Michigan's role in advancing the U.S. labor movement, calling it the birthplace of the middle class thanks to unions.

He also highlighted his liberal policy proposals, which include a withdrawal of forces from Iraq, universal health care and a repeal of some of President Bush's tax cuts.

Edwards called the Iraq war a "bleeding sore," and said Bush should sign legislation that would fund the war but also set a withdrawal date for troops. Bush opposes a withdrawal date.

"If George Bush vetoes this bill, it is George Bush who's not funding the troops -- not the Democratic leadership of Congress," Edwards said.

Edwards again acknowledged making a mistake when he voted to authorize the Iraq war when he was in the Senate. "I voted for this war and I was wrong to vote for this war," he said.

Edwards added that if he's elected president, one of the first things he would do is close the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.

Edwards' visit was his first to the state since 2005, when he pushed for a higher minimum wage on the Capitol steps in Lansing.

The $150-per-person event at the Cobo Center also featured speeches from Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

Edwards, who has been out of office since 2004, is competing in a tough Democratic field that includes Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois.

While trailing Clinton and Obama in the most recent national fundraising totals, Edwards was tops in Michigan, according to opensecrets.org, which tracks campaign financing. He raised $147,000 in Michigan, while Clinton had $111,000 and Obama had $87,000.

Thomas Zerafa, 55, a church organist from Oak Park who heard the speech, said he thinks Edwards has a great chance to do well in Michigan but wasn't as sure of his prospects nationally. He said Edwards' apology for authorizing the war will help among liberal activists, yet he worried his honesty might hurt fundraising.

"The money people are a little more conservative," said Zerafa, noting that he likes Edwards' vision for America. "Realistically, I'm not sure he really stands a big chance. But I want him to succeed."

Edwards has been trying to use his Southern roots to distinguish himself as someone who can appeal nationwide. He has made alleviating poverty a central theme of his candidacy.

Edwards was recently embarrassed, however, after paying $400 apiece for two haircuts. He says the cuts by a Beverly Hills stylist were the product of being on the run and ordering services at the drop of a hat.

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis said the haircuts show Edwards, a former trial lawyer, has nothing in common with the state's working families.

"The amount of money that Edwards spends on a haircut is more than an unemployed Michigan citizen can receive for an entire week," Anuzis said in a statement Saturday. "Edwards clearly lives in a world apart from average everyday citizens and this is not the type of leadership that Michigan, let alone America, needs."

Ex-U.S. Rep. David Bonior, the former No. 2 House Democrat, is Edwards' campaign manager. Bonior, who represented Detroit's eastern suburbs and part of the Thumb region, has been teaching labor studies at Wayne State University since leaving Congress in 2002.

In a statement issued before the speech, Edwards also complained that the trade deal wrongly opens up American markets to Korean agricultural imports but doesn't allow American beef into Korea.