Iyangsu: "The opposition calling for a total ban on Japanese seafood is far-right nationalism"

"Opposition: Total Ban on Japanese Seafood? Will Lose at WTO"
Ruling Party Reaffirms Position on Ban of Fukushima Seafood Imports

Lee Yang-su, the senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized the Democratic Party of Korea's consideration of a bill to ban the import of not only Fukushima-produced but all Japanese seafood, saying, "It should not flow in a somewhat far-right nationalist direction in the global society."

In an interview with SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' on the 6th, Lee said, "Actually, it is a political offensive, but it is completely different from the purpose of South Korea as a member of the international community and the global world we live in together," adding, "Progressive governments are supposed to be global, open, and liberal, but the Democratic Party is becoming more closed and far-right, which is undesirable."

Lee predicted that if South Korea imposes a ban on Japanese seafood imports, Japan would file a complaint with the WTO. He said, "The whole world is now bound by the World Trade Organization (WTO) system, so if countries like Japan, Russia, or China say they will not import from countries they dislike, that is not accepted," adding, "If Japan files a WTO complaint and says we are blocking imports without special reasons, we will immediately lose."

Yang Soo Lee, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the People Power Party.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

He then referred to Japan's WTO complaint case regarding the import ban on seafood from eight prefectures around Fukushima following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. Lee explained, "When the nuclear accident first occurred, we banned imports of seafood from the eight prefectures around Fukushima, and Japan filed a WTO complaint, and we lost in the first trial," adding, "We argued, 'How can we import something so dangerous?' but since the contamination had already spread throughout the sea and the coastal waters did not emit radiation, we lost."

He continued, "However, in the second trial, we did not argue that it was dangerous but said, 'The environments are different. That place had a nuclear accident once, and ours did not, so it is not right to block imports from a different environment,'" adding, "It sounds like wordplay, but for that reason, we won the second trial."

Lee pointed out, "If we make a law to ban all Japanese seafood imports this time, Japan will naturally file a WTO complaint, and then we would have to prove that all of Japan is contaminated with radiation or that the environment is different, but there is no proper way to do that."

Meanwhile, the ruling party reaffirmed its position to pursue a ban on imports of Fukushima-produced seafood. Regarding this, Lee said, "Since the WTO trial has already ended, whether it is 30, 50, or 100 years, if our country decides not to import, then we do not import," adding, "However, if our people gather opinions that it might be okay to import and Japan presents corresponding measures, then we can consider it at that time."

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