Moon and Ha Tae-kyung Expand 'Contaminated Water' Dispute... Criticism That Direct Involvement Is Inappropriate

Former President Moon Jae-in and Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, have been increasingly engaged in a heated exchange on social networking services (SNS) regarding the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. Members of the ruling party and officials from the Moon administration have also joined the debate, escalating the controversy. Amid this, criticism has arisen that former President Moon's counter-response was inappropriate, arguing that it was unbecoming of a former president.

Earlier, on the 24th, when the discharge of contaminated water began, former President Moon posted a congratulatory message on SNS for Shin Jin-seo (23), the 9-dan winner of the Ing Cup World Baduk Championship, which drew criticism from some opposition supporters. In response, Rep. Ha shared related articles and claimed, "Former President Moon must be aware that the discharge of treated contaminated water by Japan will have virtually no impact on the Korean sea."

Former President Moon immediately rebutted this claim. He said, "Because of Rep. Ha, I cannot help but say a word," and added, "The discharge of radioactive contaminated water from Japan is causing great anxiety among the people, and the economic damage to fishermen and those involved in the fisheries industry will be immense." He emphasized, "I oppose Japan's discharge of radioactive contaminated water."

Former President Moon Jae-in is delivering a greeting at the '3rd Anniversary Event of Overcoming the Seomjin River Flood' held on the morning of the 8th in Yangjeong Village, Gurye-eup, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do. Photo by Yonhap News

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In response, Rep. Ha cited statements from Moon administration officials such as "It will follow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards (April 19, 2021, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong)" and "The Fukushima contaminated water discharge plan is Japan's sovereign decision (October 26, 2020, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha)" to argue that the Yoon administration's policy stance on contaminated water discharge is not different from that of the Moon administration. He countered former President Moon by saying, "Although you have retired, you should maintain consistency in foreign policy."

As the exchange over the contaminated water prolonged, Rep. Kwon Seong-dong of the People Power Party also joined the debate. On the 25th, Rep. Kwon posted on his Facebook, "The foreign ministers of the Moon Jae-in government declared they would follow the IAEA's conclusions, and the Yoon Seok-yeol government holds the same position," and questioned, "What exactly is former President Moon opposing? Is the president opposing the government's stance?"

Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party and spokesperson for former President Moon, also joined the fray on SNS. Yoon said, "Rep. Ha, stop venting your anger in the wrong place and come up with measures befitting the ruling party," adding, "It is the Japanese government that decided and actually discharged the water, and the Yoon Seok-yeol government is just watching without uttering a word to Japan. Why is the previous administration, which left office nearly a year and a half ago, being targeted?"

In this situation, there are also criticisms that former President Moon's response was politically inappropriate. Park Won-seok, a former Justice Party lawmaker, said on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "It is politically disadvantageous for a former president to latch onto a current lawmaker's remarks and say, 'I cannot help but say a word because of this.' I don't know why he did that."

He added, "I understand what part made him angry, but still, a former president is not on the same level as a ruling party lawmaker, even if Rep. Ha is a multi-term lawmaker," he said.

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