Democratic Party's Offensive Against Opposition on 'False Alarm of Alert' and 'Fukushima Contaminated Water'

Lee Jae-myung "President Yoon Must Be Held Strictly Accountable and Apologize"
Park Kwang-on "Fukushima Contaminated Water, Hold National Assembly Verification Special Committee and Hearings"

The Democratic Party of Korea is intensifying its offensive against the ruling party by strongly criticizing the government's inadequate response to the false alarm of the Seoul city boundary alert and Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized at the Supreme Council meeting on the morning of the 2nd, saying, "President Yoon Seok-yeol must immediately hold strict responsibility for this (false alarm of the boundary alert) incident that caused public anxiety and distrust."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and other leadership members are attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Lee said, "There is no one taking responsibility in the government that caused confusion and anxiety," and directed at President Yoon, "It is appropriate to clearly explain the process to the people and apologize for causing anxiety by sounding the air raid siren from dawn."

At the same time, he also raised issues with the government's response to Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The Democratic Party appears to be tightening its offensive following the government's report from the inspection team on the Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water. The party emphasized that the government must file a lawsuit with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to stop Japan's discharge of Fukushima contaminated water.

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party, pointed out at the Supreme Council meeting that day, "The report from the Fukushima inspection team failed to convince the public about what was observed and what judgments were made," adding, "It only causes frustration and raises dissatisfaction and doubts."

He also said, "The government cannot respond to criticisms that the inspection was ineffective and merely a token gesture." He continued, "Korea has already won a dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding restrictions on seafood imports. Experts believe there is a high possibility that provisional measures to ban the discharge of contaminated water will also be accepted under the same legal principles," and added, "Through requesting provisional measures from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, we must compel the Japanese government to immediately fulfill its cooperation obligations and conduct appropriate environmental impact assessments."

Park urged, "We repeatedly call on the People Power Party as well. Let's establish a special parliamentary committee to verify Fukushima contaminated water and hold hearings," and proposed, "At the same time, I hope they agree to adopt a parliamentary resolution to block the discharge." He said, "85% of the public opposes the discharge of contaminated water," emphasizing, "85% is practically the entire nation."

Earlier, the Korean Federation for Environmental Movements released the results of a survey on "Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water ocean discharge," commissioned to the polling agency Research View. According to the results, 85.4% of all respondents opposed ocean discharge, while 10.8% supported it. (Survey conducted from May 19 to 22, targeting 1,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level)

In particular, when asked about their intention to consume seafood if Fukushima contaminated water is discharged into the ocean, 72.0% answered that consumption would decrease, and 61.6% responded that measures to ban seafood imports should be expanded and strengthened if contaminated water is discharged. Regarding the government's response to the Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water ocean discharge issue, 64.7% evaluated it as "doing poorly."

Recalling these results, Park emphasized, "The entire nation is commanding that the ruling and opposition parties unite to block the discharge. I hope the People Power Party does not go against the absolute will of the people."

The Democratic Party plans to hold a large-scale protest rally on the 3rd during visits to Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam. At the rally, the leadership and others are expected to condemn the Japanese government for deciding to discharge contaminated water and criticize the Korean government's inadequate response.