"Japan Files Complaint at International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea"…Democratic Party Holds 17-Hour Overnight Filibuster

Lee Jae-myung "Government Must Take Opposing Actions"
Relay Sit-in from Night of 6th to Morning of 7th

The Democratic Party of Korea has launched an all-out campaign to oppose the Japanese government's discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima into the ocean. Democratic Party lawmakers, who began an overnight sit-in at the National Assembly, emphasized the dangers of the contaminated water discharge and urged the government to file a lawsuit against the Japanese government at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

According to the Democratic Party on the 7th, party leader Lee Jae-myung attended the "Emergency Action Against Fukushima Nuclear Contaminated Water" that started the previous evening and stayed overnight at the protest site. Since the day before, 100 party lawmakers have been conducting a 17-hour relay filibuster opposing the discharge of contaminated water in the rotunda hall of the National Assembly main building. The 17 hours represent the time it took for the reactor to lose its cooling function and undergo meltdown during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Party leader Lee and the party leadership participated in the overnight sit-in the previous night and continued the Supreme Council meeting at the same location the following morning. At the Supreme Council meeting, Lee said, "We will do our best to ease the worries of the people who will lose their livelihoods and be threatened, even if just a little," adding, "Instead of dumping (the contaminated water) into the sea, it should be solidified and stored." He further urged, "The government of the Republic of Korea must oppose the discharge of contaminated water for the national interest and take actual action," and called for "filing a lawsuit at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea."

Park Kwang-on, the Democratic Party floor leader, also urged the government and ruling party, saying, "At the Korea-Japan summit expected to be held during the NATO summit, I hope they clearly state that 85% of the people oppose the marine dumping of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water and firmly declare opposition to marine dumping in front of the Japanese Prime Minister," calling for active responses in the international community. He also proposed raising the contaminated water issue as a key agenda at the London Protocol Parties meeting. Additionally, he demanded answers from Rafael Grossi, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Director General, who is visiting Korea that day, regarding the exclusion of Alps technology verification and the ecological safety verification after the contaminated water discharge.

Democratic Party lawmakers continued their relay speeches opposing the contaminated water discharge on the day following the overnight sit-in. The first filibuster speaker of the day, lawmaker Eo Gi-gu, pointed out, "Only the People Power Party and the government are doing nothing to oppose the discharge," adding, "They are almost acting as Japan's mouthpiece and spokesperson." He raised his voice, saying, "We are preparing a special law to absolutely ban the import of contaminated seafood and protect our seafood," emphasizing the need to reassure the public. Lawmaker Woo Won-shik of the Democratic Party, who is on his 12th day of fasting, stressed, "It is a complete lie to say it is okay because it is diluted," and warned, "(The government) should not deceive the people in the name of flimsy science."

Democratic Party lawmakers sat on the floor of the protest site holding placards that read "The IAEA report is a Japan-tailored canned report" and raised their voices, saying, "The Yoon Seok-yeol government must declare opposition to the marine dumping of contaminated water!"

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