Lee Jae-myung Directly Criticizes Yoon Seok-yeol's Relatives' Corruption and Remarks on Japan's Contaminated Water Discharge

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, criticized former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol for representing the claims of Japanese far-right forces regarding the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima into the ocean, following the scandal involving Yoon's relatives (his mother-in-law's hospital operated by a manager).

On the 7th, Lee posted on Facebook an article titled "Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol must clearly state his position on the discharge of Fukushima contaminated water into the ocean," saying, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon said, 'The Japanese government and our government should cooperate with various countries and proceed transparently. In the past, it was not considered a big problem and should not be viewed from a political perspective,'" and pointed out, "This statement by former Prosecutor General Yoon is no different from the claims of the Japanese far-right forces and the logic of the Japanese government that represents them."

He continued, "Japan has announced that it will discharge the contaminated water after purification that meets international standards, but the problem is that experts consistently argue that with current technology, radioactive substances such as tritium cannot be completely removed even after purifying radioactive contaminated water," and claimed, "The Japanese government is ignoring the concerns and worries of experts and trying to create favorable public opinion for the discharge."

He also warned, "Former Prosecutor General Yoon said, 'In the past, it was not considered a big problem and should not be viewed from a political perspective,' which can be interpreted as saying that those who speak about the risks of ocean discharge of contaminated water are making political claims," adding, "He should not criticize the majority of our people’s claims as political remarks while not uttering a single critical word against the Japanese government."

In particular, he expressed concern, saying, "The statement by former Prosecutor General Yoon that 'The Fukushima accident is related to some ground issues in Japan and not the Fukushima nuclear power plant itself' raises worries about whether he has at least a minimal understanding of the devastating impact of the nuclear accident," and emphasized, "There is little time left until 2023, when Japan has announced the discharge of radioactive contaminated water, so we must work closely and swiftly with the international community to have Japan withdraw its decision."

Furthermore, Lee said, "The risks of Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water must be objectively verified," and directly criticized, "The public is confused and curious, so former Prosecutor General Yoon must clearly state his position on (the Japanese contaminated water discharge) and be evaluated by the people."

On the 5th, Lee also urged the government to prepare fundamental countermeasures through Facebook, saying, "The arrest of Yoon’s mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, has clearly revealed the seriousness of hospitals operated by managers in South Korea." He further argued that it is necessary to investigate whether former Prosecutor General Yoon was involved with Choi, who was not indicted six years ago.

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