The government’s decision to set the tariff on rice imports at 513 percent and to liberalize the domestic rice market next year triggered an intense backlash from local rice farmers.

A dozen farmers and civic group members broke into the National Assembly on Thursday morning, halting a meeting between the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the ruling Saenuri Party.

The protesters threw eggs and red pepper powder at the policymakers and lawmakers, denouncing the ministry for making the decision without consulting the opposition party or the agricultural industry.

Saenuri Party chief Kim Moo-sung demanded that they apologize and leave, but the sit-in continued for some 40 minutes.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that a 513 percent tariff will be imposed on rice imports, beginning next year.

Once approved and confirmed by the World Trade Organization, the rate will take effect on Jan. 1, according to ministry officials.

Agriculture Minister Lee Dong-phil said the country could no longer afford to postpone opening the market, especially since the country’s rice consumption has continued to drop.

“Our rice industry has been improving in terms of productivity and quality over the past 20 years,” he said, claiming that an extra tariff on imported rice should be sufficient to protect the market share of domestic rice.

South Korea has been allowed to delay opening its rice market under a 1993 WTO agreement in exchange for gradually increasing its mandatory import quota, which reached 408,700 tons this year.

Even with the market liberalization next year, the country will still have to import the mandatory quota.

The 513 percent tariff on nonmandatory imports will effectively prevent an overflow of cheap foreign rice into the local market, according to the minister, who said it was “the highest possible level under WTO convention in agriculture.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)