Lee Jun-seok "Changing the Name of Japan's Contaminated Water Won't Change Public Opinion"

Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok criticized reports that the government is considering changing the name of the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan to "treated water," saying, "The public's perception will not change."

On the 11th, Lee wrote on his social media, "No matter how much someone tries to rename what comes flying from North Korea as a projectile, the public knows it is a missile," adding, "No matter what name Japan uses for the water it discharges, the public's perception will not change significantly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Kim Han-kyu, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, also shared on his social media a post titled "Comparison of the governments of Korea, Japan, and China," sharing the responses of the three governments to the Fukushima contaminated water. He shared a photo of an article stating that Korea is pushing to change the name to "treated water," a photo showing Japan already calling it treated water, and a photo of an article where China protests, saying, "If the contaminated water is harmless, why isn't it used for agricultural or industrial water?" This was a subtle critique that Korea is excessively leaning toward the Japanese side.

The government has not yet issued an official stance on whether it is considering changing the name of the Fukushima contaminated water to treated water, but the People Power Party is making similar claims. On the morning of the same day, People Power Party lawmaker Sung Il-jong explained on SBS's "Kim Tae-hyun's News Show," "The nuclear power plant in Fukushima was submerged by a tsunami, and contaminated water polluted with radioactivity came out. The contaminated water is collected, and there is a device called ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) that removes multiple radionuclides."

He continued, "This device was verified during the Moon Jae-in administration, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is leading the verification and testing to see whether the multiple radionuclides are filtered out or not."

Lawmaker Sung said, "After all the verification, when the water meets international legal standards, it will be discharged into the outer sea," adding, "Therefore, since the water discharged outside is treated, I think it is appropriate to call it 'treated contaminated water.'"

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