Lee Jae-myung: "'Contaminated Water' Name Change"... Letter from London Convention Parties

Democratic Party to Host International Conference Tomorrow with Panels from US, China, and Japan

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 3rd criticized the ruling party's consideration of changing the term for contaminated water discharged after treatment by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan to "treated contaminated water," calling it a "bizarre rhetoric akin to Soseigamei (創氏改名, forced name change during Japanese colonial rule) that forbids calling contaminated water 'contaminated water'."

On the fourth day of his hunger strike, Lee held a press conference at the National Assembly and said, "'Calling a deer a horse' (指鹿爲馬, an idiom meaning deliberate misrepresentation) does not make the radioactive contaminants in the contaminated water disappear," criticizing the move.

He continued, "Forcing the public to blindly trust nuclear contaminated water is the most unscientific manipulation and agitation of public opinion," and added, "Even as the majority party in the National Assembly, the Democratic Party will do its best to protect public safety."

Lee emphasized, "Japan's dumping of nuclear contaminated water flagrantly violates the London Convention, which prohibits all radioactive waste dumping into the ocean," and "It also violates the London Protocol, which bans dumping waste through artificial marine structures."

He further stated, "The international community must step in to correct Japan's clear violation of international law," and announced plans to send letters to the heads of state and government of 87 parties to the London Convention (including South Korea) and 88 countries such as Angola that have only acceded to the London Protocol.

The letter, scheduled to be sent on the 4th, is expected to urge Japan to stop discharging contaminated water and call for the international community to unite in ensuring marine safety and ecosystem preservation.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a press conference on the morning of the 3rd at the National Assembly hunger strike site regarding the sending of a letter urging the decision on the violation of the London Convention and Protocol on the ocean dumping of Fukushima contaminated water.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Democratic Party plans to strengthen its public relations efforts in cooperation with the international community. Woo Won-shik, chairman of the party's "Comprehensive Countermeasures Committee to Prevent the Ocean Dumping of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Contaminated Water," said at the press conference, "We plan to dispatch a delegation to international organizations such as the United Nations Human Rights Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to convey our position."

On the 4th, an international joint conference urging the cessation of ocean dumping of Fukushima nuclear contaminated water, hosted by the Democratic Party, will be held at the National Assembly. According to the Democratic Party, Joseph Buckson, co-chair of the Nuclear Weapons Abolition Committee of the Washington Society for Social Responsibility in the United States, will attend as the U.S. panelist, and Jang Mu-hui, professor at Sungkyunkwan University's East Asian Institute, will participate as the Chinese panelist.

Hajime Matsukubo, secretary-general of the Japan Nuclear Information Center, has been invited as the Japanese panelist. From the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, Woo Won-shik, and Lee Yong-seon, head of the International Cooperation Headquarters of the Countermeasures Committee, will attend.

The 4th, the day the conference is held, is also the date the prosecution investigating Lee's alleged "Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance suspicion" has requested his appearance. Regarding suspicions that Lee scheduled the meeting to avoid prosecution attendance, a Democratic Party official rebutted, "The meeting was scheduled before the summons was issued."

Lee Jae-myung, the representative, speaking at the press conference on the 3rd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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