South Korean farmers scuffle with riot police during a rally opposing free trade policies near the National Assembly in Seoul, November 21, 2005. Thousands of South Korean workers and farmers have taken to the streets to protest the government's decision to open up the rice market to foreign competition and labor reforms.
(AFP/File) |
Thousands of South Korean workers and farmers have taken to the streets to protest the government's decision to open up the rice market to foreign competition and labor reforms.
Some 5,000 demonstrators occupied the busy streets in central Seoul and paralyzed traffic for hours. Scuffles erupted when police tried to stop some protesters, but no injuries were reported.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the organizers of the protest, called on the government to abolish a labor reform bill aimed at allowing employers to hire more temporary workers.
The confederation said 60,000 workers at 140 work places were on strike against the bill, while the government put the figure at 16,000. The government wants to push the bill through parliament this month.
Farmers, meanwhile, are opposed to the opening up of the country's rice market to foreign competition.
Under a WTO-sponsored free trade deal negotiated last year with rice-exporting countries, South Korea pledged to raise its rice import quota to 7.96 percent of total domestic consumption from the current four percent.
In return it won a 10-year grace period before it must open up fully to rice imports.
