The Democratic Party criticizes Lee Jae-myung's "unrealistic claims" in the 'Japanese letter,' saying it causes diplomatic friction

Public Criticism at the Daily In-House Strategy Meeting
"Isn't This a Post-Election Rejection Mentality?"

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who sent a letter urging Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio to suspend the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima into the ocean, saying he is "causing diplomatic friction with unrealistic claims."

At a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 1st, Floor Leader Yoon stated, "The five demands contained in (Lee's) letter are absurd matters that have never been discussed among international organizations and related countries, and they also contradict our government's diplomatic policy."

Earlier, on the 28th of last month, Lee proposed five points in a letter: ▲ suspension of the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant and establishment of a permanent consultative body ▲ inclusion of expert groups in the permanent consultative body to review contaminated water treatment plans ▲ support from related countries for financial costs if accepted by the Japanese government ▲ formation of a joint nuclear power plant management organization ▲ and filing a provisional measure request with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea upon the end of the suspension period.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Floor Leader Yoon pointed out that Lee engaged in diplomatic actions beyond his authority. He said, "Diplomacy is an inherent right of the president and the executive branch under the Constitution," adding, "Unless it is a presidential election refusal mentality that does not recognize the government as a government, the leader of the opposition party cannot arbitrarily engage in diplomacy over important policy decisions as if he were the head of state."

He also mentioned the possibility of diplomatic friction caused by Lee's letter. Floor Leader Yoon said, "Our government is currently pursuing a diplomatic strategy to persuade the IAEA and the Japanese government to station our personnel at the IAEA Fukushima office," adding, "However, due to the unrealistic claims of the main opposition party, diplomatic friction has arisen, increasing the risk that the government's efforts will be wasted."

Floor Leader Yoon questioned, "The Democratic Party leader probably tried to reignite the issue by provoking the Japanese government after failing to gain domestic support for contaminated water agitation," and asked, "How can the Democratic Party's claims, which fail to convince the domestic and international scientific communities, receive any meaningful response from foreign governments and the international community?"

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