Woo Won-sik "Promoting Contaminated Water with Taxes? Accountability Must Be Demanded"
The Presidential Office has sparked widespread controversy after reports emerged that it spent 38 million won to produce a promotional video claiming that the contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is safe.
The video titled "The Truth About Fukushima Contaminated Water According to the Nation's Top Experts" runs for 4 minutes and 25 seconds and conveys the message that discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant is safe.
In the video, Baek Won-pil, president of the Korean Nuclear Society, who appears as an expert, emphasized, "Although radioactive materials poured into the Pacific Ocean immediately after the Fukushima accident, after 12 years, there has been no significant impact on our seas." Kang Do-hyung, president of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, said, "The discharged contaminated water, after traveling 20,000 km through ocean currents to (our country), is at a very minimal level, almost identical to the natural state of radiation."
Tokyo Electric Power Company officially announced that it will begin discharging contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (referred to as "treated water" by the Japanese government) into the ocean around 1 p.m. on the 24th. Photo by Yonhap News
The opposition criticized the government, calling it a 'contaminated water promotional video' and accusing it of effectively acknowledging the discharge of contaminated water. Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon also issued a statement on the 23rd, saying, "Our government dismissed the public's concerns as rumors and produced a promotional video claiming the safety of contaminated water discharge using the Presidential Office's budget, effectively acknowledging the discharge." He added, "More than 80% of the public opposes the discharge of contaminated water. Who exactly does the government of the Republic of Korea exist for?"
Woo Won-shik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, raised his voice demanding accountability regarding the production of the promotional video. On the 24th, appearing on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' Woo said, "This is truly shameful," adding, "Using taxpayers' money to promote the safety of Japan's contaminated water discharge, which the public opposes, requires a thorough investigation."
Yong Hye-in, a member of the Basic Income Party, also criticized on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' that "the government produced promotional materials claiming Fukushima contaminated water is safe and actively engaged in such propaganda," adding, "They do all this promotion but do not actually support it; this is just pretending."
On the 23rd, members of civic groups held a press conference in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, urging the withdrawal of Japan's schedule for discharging radioactive contaminated water. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
The ruling party rebutted, saying the video was produced out of concern for fishermen's damages. Kim Byung-min, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, said on the 23rd on CBS Radio's 'Park Jae-hong's One-on-One Match,' "I think they wanted to talk about objective facts," adding, "Fake news is causing real harm to fishermen, and fishing communities point out that irresponsible politicians' remarks are making the fisheries ecosystem truly difficult."
However, regarding the video being produced with the Presidential Office's budget, he said, "I think there might be another system rather than the Presidential Office's budget," adding, "Since it can cause misunderstandings, there should be some consideration about the place where the budget is being executed."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
