Yoon Gun-young: "Japan as a Sidekick... I Can Say for Sure Moon Wouldn't Do This"

Yoon Geon-young, Opposition Lawmaker, MBC Radio Interview
Yoon's Three Conditions for Discharge Called "Meaningless Demands"

Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized President Yoon Suk-yeol's statement on the 12th during the summit with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, where he expressed respect for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announcement regarding the Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge plan, saying, "I can say for sure that the Moon Jae-in administration would not have done this."

In an interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 13th, Representative Yoon said, "The summit has become a stage where the Republic of Korea plays a supporting role for Japan, and internationally it is a certification of being taken advantage of."

Yoon Geon-young, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Representative Yoon pointed out, "It doesn't seem like the President of the Republic of Korea. It's pure disappointment. Prime Minister Kishida notified the discharge, and the President of the Republic of Korea tolerates it. Then, I don't know who the Korean people are supposed to trust and rely on. Ultimately, it is only good for Japan," he said.

Regarding President Yoon's demand for three conditions on the discharge of contaminated water to the Japanese side, he claimed, "Isn't it a meaningless demand?" and said it had little significance. He added, "When the Japanese government decided to discharge in April 2021, the Moon Jae-in administration firmly announced its opposition and urged measures for safety."

Representative Yoon explained that the then government also set three prerequisites: sufficient scientific evidence from the Japanese government, sufficient prior consultation, and participation of Korean experts in the verification process. However, when he asked former Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong whether these conditions had been fulfilled under the current administration, he was told, "Don't talk nonsense."

When asked, "Didn't domestic experts inspect the Fukushima nuclear wastewater site last May?" Representative Yoon dismissed it, saying, "That was just receiving simple data."

Representative Yoon said, "What we demanded at the time was not just simple participation in the IAEA but to dispatch our experts at our own expense to independently verify it," adding, "The IAEA investigating with Japanese money and our delegation investigating with our own money are different."

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