Song Kiheon: "Fukushima Hearing Schedule Unrelated to IAEA Final Report"

Song Kiheon, Opposition Chief Deputy Whip, MBC Interview
"Schedule Will Proceed According to Agreed Terms"

The People Power Party has expressed a stance that a hearing on the contaminated water from Fukushima, Japan, can be held after verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), while Song Ki-heon, the senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "The schedule will proceed according to the agreed content."

On the 12th, Senior Deputy Floor Leader Song appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and expressed the position that the IAEA final report and the hearing schedule are unrelated.

Earlier, on the 8th, Lee Yang-su, senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, and Senior Deputy Floor Leader Song held a press conference at the National Assembly and agreed to form a special committee on the Fukushima nuclear power plant and hold a hearing. They also agreed to conduct a parliamentary audit regarding allegations of preferential hiring of children by the Central Election Commission and suspicions of concealment of hacking by North Korea on the Election Commission.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, on the 9th, Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, stated at the floor strategy meeting that the hearing related to Fukushima contaminated water should be held after verification by the IAEA, and regarding the timing of the National Election Commission audit, the parliamentary audit should be conducted after the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit.

In this regard, Senior Deputy Floor Leader Song emphasized that the schedule will proceed as previously agreed. He said, "I mentioned two agreed items, and right after the agreement, I also spoke about the general schedule through a press conference."

When asked whether the disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties was due to communication issues between the People Power Party's senior deputy floor leader and floor leader, he said, "Since the agreement was made through communication almost simultaneously, there is no such issue."

Regarding the formation of the special committee to verify Fukushima contaminated water, he explained, "On the 14th, the plenary session will pass a resolution to form the Fukushima special committee, and according to that resolution, the special committee will be formed. Then, the committee will decide on the specific schedule."

He added, "There was a long and considerable dialogue until reaching that agreement. There was coordination during the process. Therefore, we expect that part to proceed according to what we previously discussed."

Regarding the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit and the parliamentary audit, he said, "Not only the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit but also investigations can proceed separately from the parliamentary audit. The parliamentary audit is conducted by the National Assembly according to its own procedures, so it can be conducted concurrently with any other procedure."

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