Concerns Over Japanese Exemption... Controversies Surrounding the Korean Fukushima Inspection Team

12-Hour Marathon Meeting of Korea-Japan Director-General Talks
Four-Day Japan Visit Schedule Agreed... Additional Details to Be Coordinated
IAEA Interim Report Concludes 'No Issues'
Korean Inspection Team Finds It Difficult to Produce Separate Results

South Korea and Japan have agreed to conduct a four-day visit by a Korean expert inspection team to examine the contaminated water site at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. On the 12th, the Korea-Japan director-level meeting on the Fukushima contaminated water inspection team, held at the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, lasted until late at night. It was a 12-hour marathon meeting. However, the detailed issues were decided to be resolved through follow-up consultations, and it appears that both sides engaged in a tense tug-of-war over the scope of activities for the on-site inspection team.

Regarding the nature of the inspection team, the two countries had presented opposing positions. On the 9th, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Nishimura Yasutoshi, stated that the Korean inspection team would not evaluate or confirm the safety of the contaminated water. This directly contradicts the South Korean government's position that it would also examine safety.

If the scope of activities for the on-site inspection team is limited, the visit could face criticism for being merely a formality. There are concerns that it might be confined to mere 'observation' that grants a clean bill of health to the Japanese government without practical effectiveness.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

① It is difficult to produce verification beyond the IAEA... Concerns over a 'formality'

The problem is that even if the Korea-Japan director-level talks agree to review safety, it will be difficult for the South Korean government to produce results that go beyond the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verification. The name of the Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water visit team is the ‘on-site inspection team.’ The IAEA-led verification work is nearing its final stages. This is why there are high concerns that this on-site inspection may be limited to ‘observation,’ ‘confirmation,’ and ‘review.’

The government also hinted at this. Park Gu-yeon, the first deputy director of the Prime Minister's Office, said at a press conference the previous day, “The government is comprehensively reviewing what we have identified and what the IAEA is doing. (However) since any concerning points or problems will be addressed immediately, I do not expect the results to come out completely independently or separately.”

So far, the verification reports released by the IAEA have positively evaluated Japan's management and supervision. In an interim report released earlier this month, the IAEA stated that there were ‘no problems’ with the contaminated water verification results. It judged that major radionuclides were not excluded from the radioactive nuclide inspection targets of the Japanese regulatory authorities. When the final report is released around next month, Japan is likely to proceed with discharge during the summer.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

② Taiwan and PIF inspections were at the 'observer team' level... Our position must be upheld in Korea-Japan follow-up talks

There have been two previous inspections of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Taiwan and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), which consists of 18 Pacific island countries, sent inspection teams first. In the cases of Taiwan and PIF, the schedule consisted solely of listening to explanations from officials and inspecting the contaminated water tanks, multi-nuclide removal equipment, and the undersea tunnel.

Criticism continues that the on-site inspection team is insufficient to soothe domestic public anxiety. In the warming atmosphere of Korea-Japan relations, if the inspection team is composed only of government officials, there is controversy over how objective and independent their activities can be and whether this can generate trust. This is why the Korea-Japan director-level follow-up talks by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have become even more important.

The opposition party is intensifying its offensive. On the previous day, Kang Sun-woo, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said in a written briefing, “We cannot help but suspect that our government is trying to condone Japan's radioactive contaminated water ocean discharge not for the safety of the Korean people but for Japan.” The Democratic Party's Countermeasures Committee to Prevent Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Contaminated Water Ocean Discharge also criticized the on-site inspection team's passive activities as a ‘treasonous act that threatens the safety of the people and tramples on the nation's pride.’

[Image source=Yonhap News]

③ IAEA final report to be released soon... The creation of a separate verification track is significant

Meanwhile, South Korea is participating as a member country in the IAEA-led Fukushima contaminated water verification work. Currently, the IAEA's verification is proceeding along two main tracks: verification by 11 countries and verification by 4 countries. In July 2021, the IAEA formed a task force (TF) of 11 experts from 11 countries to verify the safety of Japan's contaminated water disposal plan. The Fukushima on-site inspection is currently underway. Dr. Kim Hong-seok from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) is participating on behalf of South Korea.

The dispatch of the Fukushima contaminated water discharge inspection team is an agreement between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. It signifies that the South Korean government has established a separate verification track from the IAEA regarding the contaminated water issue. Among IAEA member countries, South Korea is the first case to directly verify the site in Japan.

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