野 "Yoon Accepts Japan's Radioactive Water Discharge... National Safety Separate from President's Diplomatic Ideology"

Park Kwang-on "Government Should Remove Its Own Justification for Banning Fukushima Seafood Imports"
Lee Jung-mi "IAEA, Government Rely Only on Japanese Data... Japan Pursues Only Its Own Interests"

The opposition party stated that they cannot accept the results of the South Korea-Japan summit, claiming that President Yoon Seok-yeol ‘tolerated’ the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The opposition pressured the government and ruling party to at least demand a temporary suspension of the marine discharge.

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party, criticized at the Democratic Party policy coordination meeting on the 13th, saying, "Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida notified the marine discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from Fukushima, and President Yoon tolerated it, ignoring the expectations of the people." Park pointed out, "The presidential office said it would state our government’s position based on the principle of prioritizing the life and safety of the people, but it did not do so, and the agenda of the summit excluded the demands of our people. The temporary suspension of marine discharge was not even discussed." He added, "The dialogue was based on an incomplete report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and although President Yoon requested the participation of Korean experts in monitoring the discharge, Prime Minister Kishida gave a completely irrelevant answer that discharge would stop if it exceeded the standards." Furthermore, he said, "The Democratic Party’s bipartisan proposal for effective measures was ignored," and "the government itself eliminated the grounds to ban imports of Fukushima seafood."

Park urged, "We call on President Yoon. Marine discharge will continue for more than 30 years, and it is not a matter that the current administration can decide unilaterally," adding, "It is essential to reach an agreement with the people. There is still justification and time to stop the marine discharge."

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Jeong Chun-sook, senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, said, "We hoped President Yoon would clearly express opposition and at least agree to a temporary suspension, but as expected, that did not happen," pointing out, "As Japan’s contaminated water marine discharge enters the final countdown, public anxiety is growing day by day." Jeong criticized, "Relying on the goodwill of the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company without regard to public opinion on an issue directly related to the safety and health of the people is not a responsible attitude for the president." She urged, "The People Power Party should immediately hold the verification special committee hearing that was planned to proceed after the IAEA report."

Lee Jeong-mi, leader of the Justice Party, who has been fasting in protest against the contaminated water discharge for 18 days, said at the executive committee meeting held in front of the Japanese embassy, "At the very least, the president should have requested ‘a temporary suspension of contaminated water discharge until a missing evaluation is conducted,’" and criticized, "It is surprising that the government trusts the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company so much."

Lee said, "The biggest problem currently is that both the IAEA report and our government’s investigation results were judged solely based on information provided by Japan," and pointed out, "Japan is fully mobilizing all processes that align with its national interests and is fully committed to ‘shut up and discharge into the ocean.’" She added, "Given that the discharge has already started, does the Japanese government really manage radiation standards thoroughly and stop discharge if it exceeds the limits?" Lee said, "If they cannot say to stop the discharge outright, they should at least propose conducting joint marine ecological and health surveys of Fukushima." She urged, "The life and safety of the people are not only separate from the president’s diplomatic ideology but also the top priority. Don’t wait to respond only when radiation levels exceed the standards after the discharge, like ‘locking the barn after the horse is lost.’ Demand an immediate temporary suspension of the discharge plan."

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