There was initially strong public concern about the ocean release, but President Yoon Seok-yeol said that it was in line with the international safety standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The South Korean government ultimately approved the release, stating that it would respect the results of the verification. On the other hand, the opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, were opposed to the release, arguing that "South Korean fishery products will be contaminated with radiation."
They consistently took a stance against the plan, and even after the releases began, they continued to stir up public anxiety. Now that it has become clear that there has not been a single case of the safety standards being exceeded in the year since the releases began, the Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo are reporting that
A major newspaper denounced the "false incitement" of the opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea. The presidential office called for the opposition parties to "apologise in front of the people."
At the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, contaminated water that had been generated since the nuclear accident in March 2011 was treated.
The remaining treated water, which contains radioactive materials such as tritium, is being stored in over 1,000 tanks. On August 24 last year, the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company announced that they would add more than 10,000 tanks to the total amount of space needed for the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
In order to secure sufficient water, it is necessary to reduce the number of storage tanks for treated water on the premises, and so TEPCO has begun releasing the treated water. As of July of this year, TEPCO has completed a total of seven releases. The eighth release will begin on the 7th of this month.
About 60,000 tons have been released so far, but analysis by the Japanese government and TEPCO has found no abnormal levels exceeding safety standards in the surrounding sea areas.
The South Korean government, which finally approved the release of treated water a year ago, has said that it has not released any treated water into its waters or on the high seas in the past year.
On the 21st, Kim Jeong-moon, first deputy director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination of South Korea, said, "Radiation tests on marine areas and fishery products showed that safety standards were exceeded.
"There has not been a single case of this happening," he said, adding, "There has also been no sudden drop in seafood consumption or hoarding." He added, "The release is a long-term project, and it is an issue that is directly connected to the health and safety of the public.
"In order to prevent this, the government will continue to closely monitor whether the release will proceed as planned," he said.
The Democratic Party of Korea, the largest opposition party, which had opposed the release, continued to stir up public anxiety even after the release began, arguing that the release was necessary. Soon after, they proposed the Fukushima Special Safety Measures Act, which included the certification of the damage caused by radiation as a disaster for the fishing industry.
The party adopted the "4th Law on the Prohibition of Chemical Substances" as its platform. In addition, Chairman Lee Jae-myung hung out for 24 days in protest against the release. The opposition party also directed criticism at the Yoon administration, accusing it of being a "scientific and technically ineffective"
After the release of the drugs began, the impact spread, with customers at South Korea's fishery market temporarily declining, but the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported on the 22nd of this month that "Our reporters
"When I visited Noryangjin Fisheries Market (in Seoul), it seemed like the 'radiation rumor' had been completely forgotten," he said. A year ago, some stores were loudly emphasizing that their products were 'Made in Korea.'
However, regarding the current situation, the paper wrote, "The fish ponds containing striped jack, stonefish, red spotted grouper, grunt, red sea bream, etc. all had the country of origin "Japan" clearly written on them, but who cares?
Now that it has become clear that no cases of radioactive material exceeding safety standards have ever been found in tests conducted by the South Korean government, a major South Korean media outlet has published a report titled "Together for the People."
In an editorial dated the 23rd, the JoongAng Ilbo said, "Now that a year has passed, the Democratic Party is avoiding mentioning the contaminated water (treated water) at the party level.
"Not a single Democratic Party lawmaker attended the protest rally held in front of the Korean-Japanese embassy one year after the release," he said. "The reason for the sudden decline of the Democratic Party is that their claims are far removed from the facts.
"It has become clear that the information was collected through a joint investigation," he explained. He went on to criticize the move, saying, "This is irresponsible incitement aimed only at votes, not the safety and health of the people."
In an editorial published on the same day, the paper looked back on the Democratic Party's previous claims regarding the release of treated water, criticizing them for "spreading false rumours. The ones who suffered were Korean fishermen and those involved in seafood distribution."
On the 23rd, the South Korean presidential office said, "For the past year, the South Korean government has been fighting rumours about the treated water by engaging in scientific verification," adding, "They have continued to take groundless and irresponsible actions based on political motives.
"The opposition parties that are returning the money should immediately apologize to the people."
2024/08/26 14:12 KST
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