"Contamination Water-BSE Propaganda, Over 80% Match in Organization and Personnel Composition"

Common Traits: Anti-American and Anti-Japanese, Pro-Democratic Party, Rumor-Based Activities
Special Committee Proposes 'Seafood Safety Public-Private TF' to Government

The People Power Party claimed on the 11th that the organizational and personnel composition of the joint action regarding Fukushima contaminated water is more than 80% identical to the countermeasure committee during the 2008 mad cow disease incident.

Min Kyung-woo, representative of the Alternative Solidarity, said to reporters after the 8th meeting of the People Power Party's Special Committee for the Advancement of Civic Groups held at the National Assembly that day, “The commonality between the 2008 mad cow disease countermeasure committee and the 2023 Fukushima contaminated water joint action is that despite a 15-year time gap, the personnel and organizational composition are virtually the same,” adding, “I believe more than 80% match.” Min, who led the mad cow disease protests and is a former secretary-general of the National Alliance for the Country’s Reunification (Beomminryun), is participating as a member of the special committee.

Ha Tae-kyung, Chairman of the Special Committee for the Advancement of Civic Groups of the People Power Party, is speaking at the 8th committee meeting held on the morning of the 11th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. (Photo by Yonhap News)

Min also identified commonalities between the Fukushima contaminated water joint action and the mad cow disease protests. He explained, “The commonalities can be classified into three categories: anti-American and anti-Japanese sentiment, pro-Democratic Party tendencies, and a prevalence of rumor-based activities.”

He further stated, “The differences are that the mad cow disease countermeasure committee was led by civilians with little political involvement, whereas the Fukushima contaminated water joint action is led by political circles with no civilian presence. The mad cow disease countermeasure committee was a sizable organization with a situation room and external cooperation team, but the Fukushima joint action is network-based.” According to his analysis, the protest patterns also differ: the mad cow disease committee saw active public participation, while the Fukushima joint action has a more observant public.

As the main civic groups, he pointed to Jinbo Solidarity and People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. Min said, “Specifically, the mad cow disease countermeasure committee, Fukushima joint action, and the 2002 Hyosun and Miseon middle school girls incident National Countermeasure Committee are part of the same flow,” adding, “Comparing the Fukushima joint action with the participating groups, the middle school girls’ national committee had 27 groups, the National Movement Headquarters to Block the Korea-US FTA had 21, and the mad cow disease countermeasure committee had 195 matching groups.” Among these were People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, Green Korea United, Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, and Lawyers for a Democratic Society from the People’s Solidarity faction, and the Institute for Korean National Issues, Korean Peasants League, Unification Plaza, and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions from the Jinbo Solidarity faction.

Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party and chair of the special committee, said, “Since the 21st century, the organizations and people who have shaken and sickened Korean society with rumors are the same organizations and people,” criticizing, “During the Hyosun and Miseon incident, they incited with ‘It was murder, not an accident’; during the Korea-US FTA, they claimed ‘Appendicitis surgery costs 1 million won and cold medicine costs 100,000 won’; during mad cow disease, they spread rumors that ‘95% of Koreans have genes vulnerable to mad cow disease.’ These people have passed over 20 years without any social reflection, and instead have continued to incite social unrest and rumor-based agitation up to now.”

The special committee issued responses to five major rumors related to Fukushima contaminated water food safety that day. Regarding “If Fukushima nuclear plant contaminated water is discharged, our seafood will be contaminated,” they responded, “Since the Fukushima nuclear accident, 76,000 radiation tests on seafood have been conducted with no contamination cases.” For “Japanese seafood such as sea squirts from Fukushima, which are banned from import, are being imported into Korea,” they replied, “Since September 2013, all seafood imports from eight regions near Fukushima have been banned.” Regarding concerns that “tritium residue remains in solar salt made from seawater,” they explained, “Tritium exists in the form of water and evaporates along with water during the solar salt production process.”

Accordingly, the special committee proposed to the government that a public-private task force on seafood safety be formed to eradicate rumors and ensure public confidence in food safety. They also requested that real-time daily reports be posted after safety inspections of seafood at nationwide wholesale and direct sales markets, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced it will implement this from the end of this month.

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