▲ Main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks at an urgent party caucus at the National Assembly in Seoul on July 5, 2023. (Yonhap)

DP-IAEA report

DP questions credibility of IAEA report on Fukushima discharge plan

By Kang Jae-eun

SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday questioned the credibility of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report that Japan's plan to release radioactive water into the sea meets international safety standards, saying the report was based on Tokyo-provided data.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog unveiled the report Tuesday, saying Japan's plan to treat radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant and discharge it into the ocean would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.

The report is likely to add new momentum to Japan's push to start discharging the water from the plant -- damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 -- some time this summer despite opposition from neighboring countries, including South Korea and China.

On Wednesday, the DP discounted the report as unreliable.

"Without even conducting a facility inspection, the IAEA has concluded based on data submitted by Japan that there is no problem," DP leader Lee Jae-myung said during a party meeting, adding that a Japanese news report has said only 27 percent of the Fukushima water meets Japan's release criteria.

"President Yoon must answer. Will he entrust our waters and our lives entirely to unverified results? The Democratic Party will seek every measure to prevent the disposal of contaminated water into the ocean," he said.

DP floor leader Park Kwang-on said the IAEA report was like something ordered by Japan.

"Japanese media outlets also gave an assessment this morning that the report failed to resolve concerns among fishermen opposed to the discharge and other stakeholders," he said.

Park slammed the IAEA as irresponsible, pointing out the agency's statement that its report does not encourage or approve the dumping of contaminated water into the ocean.

"This is a truly irresponsible statement," he said.

The IAEA even noted that the discharge plan has raised political and environmental concerns, Park said, adding that the statement means the report cannot serve as a license for Japan to dump radioactive water into the sea.

"The IAEA is not an agency that analyzes people's health and the environment. It is an agency that attaches importance to nuclear power generation," he said. "The results of its investigation cannot but have low credibility."

Park urged the government to officially state its opposition to the release plan.

"We hope the government will renegotiate with Japan by using the concerns of more than 85 percent of our people and the strong objections from the DP, the No. 1 opposition party, as leverage," he said.

After the meeting, members of the DP held a rally against the plan at the National Assembly.

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