Even after IAEA report, politicians remain sharply divided

The Democratic Party (DP) has been most vocal in opposing the water's release, accused the IAEA of colluding with the Japanese government and questioned the credibility of its report. The People Power Party accuses the DP of ignoring science.

Democratic Party members led by one of its leader Jung Chung-rae, center, protest to the Japanese government's plan to discharge the radioactive treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Jeju on Tuessday. [YONHAP]

Politicians remain polarized on Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water into the sea even after the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the plan meets international safety standards.

Members of the liberal Justice Party continued their rallies in front of the Japanese consulate in Busan on Tuesday in opposition to Japan's plan to discharge the treated water from its ruined nuclear plant in Fukushima. The party's leader Lee Jeong-mi has been waging a hunger strike in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul for over a week as of Tuesday.

The Democratic Party (DP) which has also been a vocal opponent of the water's release, accused the IAEA of colluding with the Japanese government and questioned the credibility of its report.

“We have had reports that accuse the Japanese Foreign Ministry of buying off the IAEA and deeply influencing its report,” said the DP in a statement Monday. “The agency’s report can hardly be said to be independent.”

IAEA’s Director General Rafael Grossi earlier in his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Tuesday shared the agency’s final assessment of Japan’s plan, which included its approval and support.

A massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011, destroying the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, has said that all radioactive materials will be removed from the to-be-released water except tritium, which experts say is not harmful to human health in small amounts.

The plan has drawn strong opposition from communities both in Japan and Korea. DP Rep. Lim Jong-seong, during a weekend rally, had said that he would rather eat human excrement than drink the water coming out of Fukushima.

People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Yun Jae-ok criticized the DP members for “refusing to see the scientific facts.”

“Members of the DP made up their mind without even seeing the final report from the IAEA,” said Yun during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday. “Their willpower to remain blind to science is like that of the medieval inquisition against Galileo.”

People Power Party lawmakers including Rep. Lee Tae-kyu eats raw fish from the Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul on Tuesday to promote the fishery industry that had been hit by the recent politiczation over the Japanese government's plan to discharge the radioactive treated water from the Daiichi Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. [YONHAP]

Grossi is scheduled to visit Korea on Friday to explain the agency’s findings. He will meet with Yoo Guk-hee, head of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, who led a team of Korean experts to Fukushima in May to inspect some of the plant’s facilities in person.

Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said Tuesday that the Korean team of experts may be able to share their findings after Grossi’s visit.

Political wrangling over the Fukushima issue has also plagued city councils in recent weeks.

In a council meeting of Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang, last Thursday, a DP council member, Lee Gyeong-won, was addressing the councilmembers with a statement protesting Japan’s plan to release the treated radioactive water into the sea when he was cut short by the council’s speaker, Park Sun-deuk.

Park, a member of the conservative PPP, demanded Lee exit the meeting and subsequently requested the council’s security guards to escort Lee out when he refused to budge.

The other DP councilors protested Park’s actions and the meeting had to adjourn over the chaos that ensued.

“Dragging down a city councilman in the middle of his speech during a council meeting was a shameful act that sabotaged the rights of the people of Gyeongsan,” said Lim Mi-ae, a DP councilor of the North Gyeongsang provincial council, during a rally hosted at the city council on Monday.

Councilors of DP and PPP also butted heads during the meeting of the South Chungcheong provincial government on June 27. A resolution to oppose Japan’s plan to release the treated water into the sea drafted by some DP councilors was voted down by PPP councilors.

Some experts cautioned against the extreme politicization of the issue.

“The science says the [treated water] should be diluted by the time it travels a few kilometers from Fukushima,” Chung Yong-hoon, professor of nuclear and quantum engineering at Kaist, told the JoongAng Ilbo. “At that point, one can estimate about 1 becquerel of tritium per liter of water, which is what we have any way in the Han River now.”

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday dismissed any cause for concerns that the IAEA report may have been influenced by Japanese lobbying.

“The Japanese government has already stated that such reports are groundless,” said ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk. “The IAEA is a specialized international organization with the highest authority in the field of nuclear safety, with a track record of faithfully carrying out inspections applying international standards.”

BY ESTHER CHUNG, KIM JUNG-SEOK [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]