Jung Eui-yong: "Ready to Follow UN Maritime Law Procedures... Not 'Opposing Japan Just for the Sake of Opposition'"

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong is attending the government questioning session on politics, diplomacy, unification, and security held at the National Assembly on the 19th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 20th, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong clarified his remarks made during the government questioning session the previous day, where he said, "If Japan follows the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards, we do not necessarily oppose the discharge of contaminated water." He explained, "This was because some pointed out that our government might be opposing just for the sake of opposition." He emphasized, "Under the current circumstances, we firmly oppose the discharge" and added, "We are prepared to follow the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea procedures."

Minister Chung attended an emergency session of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee that morning and responded to a question from Jo Tae-yong, a member of the People Power Party, asking about the "policy objectives regarding the Fukushima contaminated water discharge decision." He said, "Some have criticized that our government opposes just for the sake of opposition or opposes Japan unconditionally," and made the above remarks.

Minister Chung stated, "I did not mean to say we simply do not oppose it; rather, we presented several conditions," including ▲scientific evidence ensuring the health and safety of our people, ▲consultation with our government, and ▲a transparent method based on international standards such as those of the IAEA. Accordingly, if the discharge proceeds under these conditions, there is no need to oppose it, but these conditions are currently not being met.

Minister Chung said, "Let me emphasize once again that we firmly oppose Japan's discharge under the current circumstances."

Regarding President Moon Jae-in's directive to consider filing a case with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, he said, "Since October 2018, when Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority announced its review of the discharge, we formed an intergovernmental task force (TF) to examine various effective countermeasures, including judicial procedures. Although it was reported as a presidential directive, this has been under internal review for some time."

He continued, "If Japan's transparent information disclosure or sufficient consultation with us is lacking, we are prepared to follow the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea procedures," adding, "There was no sudden review, nor have we announced that proving damage or filing a case would be difficult."

However, even within the ruling party, concerns were raised about Minister Chung's remark that "we do not necessarily oppose." Lee Sang-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out, "The minister should reconsider that statement," and questioned, "Shouldn't our demands have been clearly stated?"

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a report titled "Status Report on the Decision to Discharge Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Contaminated Water into the Ocean" to the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. The report stated that it would actively utilize multilateral diplomatic channels such as the IAEA, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization (WHO) to publicize the problems with Japan's decision. Specific measures include dispatching Korean experts to the IAEA expert team objectively verifying Japan's contaminated water disposal decision and promoting the participation of Korean research institutions in the Japan-IAEA inter-comparison testing program.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.