With Japan, Channels Must Be Established for Continuous Information Sharing... Maintain Ban on Seafood Imports

5-Day Emergency General Meeting Related to IAEA Final Report

The People Power Party announced on the 5th that a system should be established to enable continuous information sharing with the Japanese government regarding the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and that this information should be shared with the public.

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, made these remarks during a party meeting held at the National Assembly on the same day, discussing response measures to the final report released the previous day by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concerning Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water from Fukushima into the ocean. He said, "Now, as a party involved in the discharge of contaminated water, the Japanese government must explain as sincerely as possible to neighboring governments and the public to alleviate their concerns and ensure safety."

He continued, "Our government must also fulfill its role by closely monitoring how to respond to any unexpected situations that may prevent the plan from proceeding as scheduled," adding, "We must thoroughly manage the safety of our citizens' seafood and marine areas and share related data with the public to ease their worries."

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at an emergency party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

During the party meeting, remarks were also made to refute the Democratic Party's claims regarding the IAEA report. Floor leader Yoon criticized, "The Democratic Party hastily concluded that the so-called private experts they mentioned reviewed the final report just two hours after its release and declared it a worthless report," adding, "I am worried that this will become a laughingstock in the international community."

After the meeting, in a press conference, Yoon said, "There was a consensus that the government should promptly announce the verification results of the report," and added, "There was an opinion that we should jointly respond with the international community, establish a special communication and cooperation channel with Japan regarding the monitoring system, continuously share related information, and devise measures to ensure safety."

The existing policy to maintain the ban on seafood imports and prepare measures for those working in the fisheries industry was also reaffirmed. Yoon emphasized, "The party and government have firmly stated that under no circumstances will Fukushima seafood be imported while the public cannot feel safe, and it is the firm position of the party and government not to import Fukushima seafood until our people feel assured, whether it takes 10, 30, or 100 years."

Regarding the Democratic Party's mention of support measures for the fisheries industry through supplementary budgets, he said, "It seems they are more interested in the supplementary budget than in supporting fisheries," adding, "We will have budgets we can use. There is government contingency funding, and I believe there are ways to provide support without necessarily resorting to supplementary budgets." He also said, "Since the last party-government council, we have thought that if fishermen or fisheries workers suffer damages, they should naturally be supported, and the government should prepare comprehensive support measures for the fisheries industry, including how to stimulate the economy amid the current downturn caused by reduced seafood consumption."

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is talking with Sung Il-jong, chairman of the Our Sea Protection Verification TF, at an emergency members' meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Regarding the Democratic Party's repeated intention to hold a hearing on the Fukushima contaminated water, Yoon drew a clear line, saying, "The Democratic Party broke the agreement themselves." He pointed out, "The Democratic Party even changed the legislative schedule to unilaterally rush a resolution demanding the withdrawal of the contaminated water discharge plan," adding, "We had agreed to take time and continue reviewing the existing hearing agreement, but they broke that promise. Breaking the agreement between the two parties is a self-declaration that they will not keep the agreement."

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Sung Il-jong (Chairman of the Our Sea Protection Verification TF) explained to the members during the meeting that the radiation level of the Fukushima contaminated water is only one-thousandth of the annual dose limit of 1 mSv (millisievert) per person. Assemblyman Sung emphasized, "Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said that the IAEA did not inspect the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), but inspections were conducted during the first to sixth rounds, and this report was released by compiling the results up to the sixth round."

He added, "The Democratic Party says that our party opposed the Fukushima discharge before and submitted a resolution, but the Moon Jae-in administration did nothing, so we submitted the resolution demanding countermeasures," and said, "Only nine months later did the government dispatch our scientists to the IAEA and establish countermeasures."

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