The public's anxiety is intensifying, and South Korea is still pretending to be confused? Prime Minister's remarks lead to criticism, Japan's nuclear pollution discharge into the sea rehearsal Fukushima | South Korea | Nuclear pollution

At the beginning of Japan's rehearsal for the discharge of Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the sea, there was a heated debate in South Korea.

It is reported that Tokyo Electric Power Company began trial operation of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant's nuclear sewage discharge facility on June 12th to confirm the operation of the core equipment. On the same day, South Korean Prime Minister Han Deju stated in a parliamentary inquiry that if the contaminated water from Fukushima nuclear power plant is scientifically treated and meets the standards, he can drink it. This has sparked questioning and criticism from the largest opposition party, the Common Democratic Party.

On the 14th, Lee Jae ming, the leader of the Democratic Party of the United States, said at a meeting, "If it can be drunk, why does Japan still discharge into the sea? Is it appropriate for the South Korean Prime Minister to play the role of a spokesperson for Japan?" The Democratic Party of the United States questioned the South Korean government's opaque and unclear attitude towards Japan's discharge into the sea, which has caused anxiety and distrust among the South Korean people.

The South Korean Central Daily News commented that at the moment when the two sides in parliament were arguing endlessly about who was spreading rumors, whether to drink nuclear wastewater, and whether Han Dezhu was the Prime Minister of Japan or South Korea, people's lives became even more difficult. Once Japan starts discharging nuclear wastewater, regardless of whether the actual discharged wastewater is safe or not, the resistance of the South Korean people will be great, and there is a high possibility that fishermen will suffer huge losses.

The concerns of South Korean media are not unreasonable, and the anxiety of the South Korean people is increasingly intensifying. There are reports that consumers have started purchasing large quantities of salt and dried seafood products that can be stored for a long time, and the prices of these things are also rising.

▲ Materials and images: Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and nuclear wastewater storage tanks in Japan.

According to a recent report by the Korean Ethnic Daily, an individual who runs a restaurant in Seoul's Guanyue district said that salt prices will rise by 5000 Korean won every day when they wake up. Some online merchants have issued notices stating that "the direct delivery of sea salt orders from Xin'an County production areas has surged and is temporarily sold out.". During the past month, the price of sea salt has skyrocketed by over 40%, and the selling price of 20 kilograms of bagged salt has exceeded 20000 Korean won.

The report stated that hoarding salt and dried fish were actions taken by consumers spontaneously to ensure the safety of aquatic products before the discharge of nuclear contaminated water. Once Japan officially starts discharging nuclear wastewater, there may be a disruption in the consumption of aquatic products such as fish and sashimi that cannot be stored for a long time.

The report pointed out that although the government has repeatedly emphasized "safety", the anxiety of the South Korean people has not disappeared, but has continued to increase because the people have lost trust in the South Korean and Japanese governments.

TEPCO has had a "black history" of repeatedly tampering with data and concealing safety issues at nuclear power plants. Japan initially claimed that multi nuclide removal equipment could filter out almost all radioactive elements in contaminated water except for tritium, but later admitted that carbon-14 with a half-life of 5730 years in contaminated water could not be filtered. There are also reports that 70% of the polluted water treated by ALPS still has excessive levels of radioactive elements.

On the other hand, the Korean National Daily pointed out that the South Korean government omitted the process of requiring Japan to transparent and publicly disclose information and access relevant facilities, unilaterally advocating the safety of polluted water, and blaming the public's anxiety on the instigation of opposition parties, which is irresponsible. Even if an inspection team is sent to the local area afterwards, it cannot reassure the people.

In fact, the South Korean government has indeed experienced some wavering in its attitude towards nuclear wastewater. In recent years, South Korea, along with neighboring countries, has repeatedly expressed serious concerns about Japan's strong push to discharge pollutants into the sea. According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean President Yoon Seok yeol also stated on July 26 last year that Japan should transparently disclose information to neighboring countries and obtain their consent. But later on, the attitude of the South Korean government gradually changed to "conducting scientific verification of the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima nuclear power into the sea" and sending an "investigation team" to Japan, seemingly not strongly opposing Japan's unilateral discharge. The transformation here is worth pondering.

In May of this year, some media reported that the South Korean government was discussing changing the name of "polluted water" in Fukushima to "treated water", which sparked huge controversy. The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urgently refuted rumors that the South Korean government has not discussed using the official Japanese term for the Fukushima nuclear power plant's nuclear wastewater, "nuclear treated water," and has always used the term "contaminated water," without considering changing the wording.

Faced with surging public questioning, the South Korean government recently stated that the ban on Fukushima aquatic products will not be lifted until their safety is verified.

According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's Deputy Minister of Marine Products, Song Sang gen, stated at a press conference on June 16 that even if the safety of Fukushima's nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea is "scientifically proven," as long as the safety of Fukushima's aquatic products is not verified, South Korean citizens do not personally feel safe, and the import ban cannot be lifted. He emphasized that banning the import of aquatic products from Fukushima and its surrounding seven counties is completely different from discharging nuclear wastewater into the sea.

Song Sanggen's words clearly indicate that the South Korean government's attitude towards the import of aquatic products is determined by their own safety, and is not related to the safety of nuclear wastewater.

This is really a bit off topic.