Yoon's 'Fukushima' Remark Deleted by Newspaper... Cho Kuk Criticizes, "Are They Crawling on Their Own?"

Yoon "Reflected differently from intention... Vile political attack"
Jo Guk "Article deletion, is Busan Ilbo crawling on its own?"

Original interview article of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol with Busan Ilbo on the 4th. The parts underlined in red were deleted afterward. / Photo by Online Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol has sparked controversy by making remarks implying that "there was no radioactive leakage from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan."

In an interview with Busan Ilbo on the 4th, former Prosecutor General Yoon responded to a reporter's comment that "Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam are the world's most densely concentrated nuclear power plant areas, raising concerns about nuclear power expansion," by saying, "The nuclear power plants coming into our country are different from Chernobyl. Even in Japan, the Fukushima nuclear power plant did not explode."

He continued, "There was a large amount of damage due to the earthquake and tsunami, but the nuclear power plant itself did not collapse. So, basically, there was no radioactive leakage."

The article reportedly spread rapidly on online communities but was deleted late at night.

In this regard, Won Hee-ryong, a primary rival within the People Power Party and former governor of Jeju, strongly criticized, "If various issues such as the Fukushima contaminated water, which the public questions and expresses aversion to, are stories that come naturally from former Prosecutor General Yoon's thoughts, then he lacks not only preparation as a president but also basic qualifications."

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min also said, "Radioactive materials have contaminated the sea east of Japan and affect us as well. Didn't he speak lightly about this?" adding, "Even in a time when nuclear power is becoming important, overconfidence in safety is a no-go."

He added, "Since many citizens are concerned about the issue of discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, it would be appropriate to be cautious in making such remarks."

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk also posted on his Twitter on the 5th, stating, "It is a clear fact that the nuclear power plant in Fukushima melted down, hydrogen explosions occurred, and radioactive leakage happened," and questioned, "Why did Busan Ilbo delete this passage? Is Busan Ilbo kowtowing on its own?"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. /Photo by Yonhap News

As the controversy grew, former Prosecutor General Yoon's presidential campaign sent messages to reporters explaining the situation.

The campaign stated, "The article initially posted online was reflected differently from the candidate's intention," and explained, "Due to the nature of print media, it is inevitable to compress a long interview into an article, so if the meaning is conveyed differently, it is a matter that can be adjusted mutually."

They added, "Launching an offensive over the interview reporting process is a despicable political attack."

Meanwhile, Busan Ilbo revealed that the deletion of the controversial remarks was at the request of former Prosecutor General Yoon's side.

Busan Ilbo reported, "The Yoon Seok-yeol campaign explained that 'the remarks were made in the process of emphasizing that the Fukushima accident was not due to a hardware safety failure of the nuclear power plant itself, but a human disaster caused by the inability to maintain cooling control due to the earthquake and tsunami, and that the brief explanation led to misunderstandings,' and requested a correction to cancel the remarks."

They continued, "The purpose of the interview was to convey the candidate's accurate stance on current issues, and considering that in other interviews, requests for post-correction have been accepted as long as they do not harm the overall context of the article, we accepted the request," explaining the reason for the article deletion.