ARIRANG NEWS 16:00 Korea sets 513% tariff on rice imports

ARIRANG NEWS 16:00 It′s 4 p.m. on Thursday, September 18th here in Korea. Live from Seoul, I′m Laah Hyun-kyung Title: Korea sets 513% tariff on rice imports We begin with the government′s announcement to set the tariff rate for imported rice. This comes not long after the country′s farmers protested the government′s decision to open up the rice market starting next year. Ji Myung-kil has our top story. The Korean government has set its tariff on rice imports at 513 percent. The agriculture ministry said the high tariff will help protect Korea′s rice industry as imported rice will be more expensive. "We have prepared measures such as stabilizing the income of rice farmers, modernizing the rice farming industry and promoting the consumption of rice." Lawmakers from the ruling Saenuri Party also said imposing high tariffs was the only answer to help locally produced rice compete with the influx of imported rice on the market. The move comes as the country is set to liberalize its rice market from next year. However, farmers and civic groups oppose the move,... saying it will hurt their livelihoods and the local rice market. "The government unilaterally declared the tariff rate without even discussing it with the farmers or the public. The whole process was done in secret." The ministry said the proposed tariff rate will be submitted to the World Trade Organization before the end of this month. If the rate is confirmed by the WTO, the proposed tariff will go into effect on January 1st of 2015. However, it could be months until the process is finalized,... while the WTO assesses whether the tariff rate proposed by Korea is appropriate. Korea had been allowed to delay the opening of its rice market under a WTO quota agreement in 1993, in exchange for gradually increasing its mandatory import quota, which reached more than 400-thousand tons this year. The agreement with the WTO requires Korea to continue importing the mandatory quota even after the market is opened next year at a 5 percent tariff rate. "The government could not afford to further postpone the opening of the rice market nor had a reason to do so... as the country′s rice consumption continues to drop. Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News." Title: Korean gov′t to raise budget spending by $19 bil. in 2015 The finance ministry has laid out its budget plan for next year. The spending is raised by the largest amount since the global financial crisis in 2008. Ministry officials say... their expansionary policies are necessary… to pull the economy out of a low-growth trap. Our economics correspondent Hwang Ji-hye has the details. The Korean government on Thursday unveiled its biggest spending increase in seven years for 2015,... underlining its determination to get the nation′s economy back on a normal growth track. In its new budget proposal... the finance ministry said it will raise spending by 5-point-7 percent from this year... to 376-t