The ruling and opposition parties are criticizing each other as “inward-looking” over the Japanese government’s decision to release contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant. “The Moon Jae-in government also responded lukewarmly to Japan’s discharge of contaminated water, but now that the Democratic Party of Korea is in opposition, it is inciting myths,” the party said. The Democratic Party of Korea countered that they opposed the discharge of polluted water when they were in the opposition, saying, “Were they wrong then and are they right now?” We took a look at the arguments of the ruling and opposition parties.
Moon Jae-in’s government issued a report saying there was no problem with polluted water discharge?
The BNP also claimed that the Moon Jae-in government issued a report in October 2020 that concluded that the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant was scientifically sound. “In October 2020, the Moon Jae-in administration had already conducted an expert review of the contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and concluded that the impact on our people, including the possibility of tritium exposure and the spread of contaminated water to the sea, was not significant,” said Lee Yang-soo, deputy leader of the Bareun National Party, at the party’s meeting on the 23rd.
“Tritium is difficult to accumulate in living organisms, and the likelihood of significant exposure through consumption of seafood is very low,” according to a report on the status of contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant published by a joint government task force including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Nuclear Safety Commission, which was released by Rep. Ahn Byung-gil. As for the possibility of contaminated water entering domestic waters, the report assessed that “there is no significant impact due to diffusion and dilution by ocean currents.”
However, the government’s official position at the time was that “the opinion of some experts cannot be the position of the government.” When the report was published in the media in April 2021, the government said it “firmly opposes Japan’s decision to release contaminated water into the ocean,” adding that it “cannot tolerate any action that harms public safety.”
Moon Jae-in’s government “No objection to discharge if it meets IAEA standards?”
People’s Power pointed out that the Moon Jae-in administration also did not oppose the release of contaminated water until it was verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The group cited former Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong’s April 2021 answer to a parliamentary questionnaire in which he said, “If it meets the IAEA’s standards, I don’t object to it.” However, at the time, Chung was quoted as saying, “I don’t object to it.
However, Chung added a caveat to his remarks, saying that “three requirements are in place.” The three requirements were that the Japanese government provide sufficient scientific evidence and share information, that it consult with the South Korean government in advance, and that it ensure the participation of South Korean experts in the IAEA verification process. The Democratic Party of Korea argued that the Japanese government did not comply with these three requirements and should oppose the discharge of contaminated water.
Wade Allison (second from right), an emeritus professor at Oxford University who says he can drink a liter of Fukushima contaminated water, listens to lawmaker Sung Il-jong’s remarks at a meeting of the task force on protecting the nation’s oceans at the National Assembly on Monday. By Min-gyu Park Senior Reporter
Moon Jae-in’s government did not submit a case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea?
“In April 2021, when the Japanese government decided to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, President Moon Jae-in instructed the government to consider filing a complaint with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea with an interim measure equivalent to a preliminary injunction, but no action has been taken since then,” the National People’s Power noted.
It is true that the Moon administration did consider and then abandoned a complaint to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. However, it is possible that the government abandoned the case due to various circumstances. This is because the burden of proof is on the Korean government. Unless the Japanese government provides relevant information such as samples of polluted water, it is difficult for the Korean government to prove the danger. The government may have abandoned the case because it realized that if it lost, it would only have the excuse of discharging polluted water.
The Democratic Party countered that “the Moon administration has consistently expressed concern about the discharge of polluted water.” Former President Moon conveyed his concerns about the decision to discharge Fukushima contaminated water into the ocean to Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Ivoshi when he came to Cheong Wa Dae to receive his credentials on April 14, 2021.
Did the BNP oppose the discharge of contaminated water메이저사이트 when it was in opposition?
The Democratic Party of Korea pointed out that the KPA opposed the release of Fukushima contaminated water in 2021 when it was in the opposition, but changed its attitude when it became the ruling party. Lee Jae-myung said at the Supreme Council on the 24th, “Kim Ki-hyun and Cho Tae-yong, the head of the National People’s Power, said in a resolution in 2021, ‘Complete removal of deadly radioactive materials is difficult. We will not tolerate any Japanese measures that will harm the health of the people,'” he said, adding, “They were wrong then and right now.”
In June 2021, the ruling and opposition parties passed the “Resolution Condemning the Japanese Government’s Decision to Release Fukushima Radioactive Contaminated Water into the Sea and Calling for Active Measures to Ensure the Safety of Contaminated Water” by consensus in the plenary session. “The contaminated water contains more than 60 types of radioactive substances, including tritium, which is deadly to humans, and experts agree that complete removal is difficult,” the resolution said. “The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea strongly condemns the Japanese government’s unilateral decision to release radioactive contaminated water from Fukushima into the sea and calls for its immediate withdrawal,” it said. The resolution was introduced by Cho Tae-yong, then a member of the National Assembly, and co-sponsored by Kim and Foreign Minister Park Jin-chol. The resolution was supported by the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party, creating an alternative at the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee level.
“We should not be the first to provide Japan with any excuse to rationalize and justify the release of polluted water,” said Joo Ho-young, acting leader of the People’s Power, at a parliamentary session on April 16, 2021, when he was in the opposition. Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Won Hee-ryong said in a KBS radio interview in April of the same year, when he was governor of Jeju Island, that “the IAEA is an organization that is already heavily influenced by Japan and the United States,” adding, “Even the Nuclear Energy Agency has said that (the discharge of contaminated water) is safe, but we should never accept the other side’s claims.”