Jang Dong-hyuk: "IAEA Report Saying No Responsibility? That's Obvious"

<與 원내대변인, KBS라디오 인터뷰
"Discharge Decision and Responsibility All Lie with Japan">

Jang Dong-hyuk, the floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, said on the 6th regarding the phrase "does not take responsibility" included in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, "It is a natural phrase," adding, "The IAEA is not an institution that authorizes discharge but an organization that conducts scientific verification and provides advice based on the results."

Earlier, the IAEA's final report on the Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water, released on the 4th, evaluated that the plan to discharge contaminated water into the ocean complies with international safety standards.

However, the report included the phrase, "(Although the IAEA has exercised great care to maintain the accuracy of the information contained in this report, the IAEA and its member states do not accept any responsibility for any consequences that may arise from the use of this report)," which sparked controversy.

The opposition parties judged the IAEA report as unreliable and called for the withdrawal of the discharge plan, while the People Power Party views the Democratic Party's distrust of the scientifically verified IAEA report as a political attack.

Jang Dong-hyeok, Floor Spokesperson of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding this, Floor Spokesperson Jang said in an interview with KBS Radio's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs" on the same day, "Whether it is deemed safe or unsafe, the decision to discharge or not is made by Japan, a sovereign state, and all responsibility lies with Japan."

Jang said, "If Japan discharges according to the planned discharge plan, it is considered safe, but it is uncertain whether it will be properly followed, and all responsibility lies with Japan," adding, "Since everything is under Japan's management, it is natural that the IAEA includes a phrase stating it does not bear legal responsibility for that."

He continued regarding the IAEA report results, "We humbly accept the final conclusion that there is no particular problem regarding the safety issue affecting health due to the discharge," and said, "The government will comprehensively conduct an additional internal review of the IAEA final report, so we will observe the results of that review."

Floor Spokesperson Jang argued, "In Japan's decision to discharge as a sovereign nation, the basic method internationally is to inspect and verify whether this is safe based on the current scientific level," adding, "When considering what measures the international community can take once Japan decides to discharge, I believe there is no other way than scientific verification at the current scientific level."

Regarding the parliamentary hearing on the Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water discharge, he responded, "We have already notified, but we view it as destroying the original spirit of the agreed Fukushima hearing, so there will be no room for further negotiation."

Jang criticized, "The opposition's unilateral forced processing of the Fukushima issue contradicts the spirit of the hearing, which was to 'calmly observe and discuss afterward.'"

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