On the 12th, the ruling and opposition parties fought over the discharge of contaminated water from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant and the ban on imports of Japanese seafood during the government audit of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
On this day, the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Forestry, Marine, Food and Fisheries Committee conducted a government audit targeting the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority, Korea Fishing Village Fisheries Aviation Corps, and Korea Institute for Oceans and Fisheries Science and Technology Promotion.
The opposition party raised safety concerns regarding Japan’s second discharge of contaminated water on the 5th.
Yoon Jun-byeong, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, “According to the analysis of data from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, agricultural, livestock and fishery products exceeding radioactivity standards are detected every year in Fukushima Prefecture and 14 nearby regions, reaching 2,400 cases.” He added, “Sampling of fishery products conducted by the Fisheries Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is conducted. He said, “Up to 200 cases of seafood exceeded the radioactivity standard during inspection.”
He continued by criticizing, “Japanese agricultural and marine products that exceed the radioactivity standard are still being detected, but isn’t it deceiving the public to say that there is no problem simply because everything is processed through the Alps?”
On the other hand, the passport countered that there was no problem. People Power Party lawmaker Choi Chun-sik said, “The concentration of tritium can be a problem in all waters around the world because it is diluted, but in fact, it is judged to be no problem.” He added, “Based on the WTO standard for drinking water, we collected samples. “As a result of the inspection, it was below the normal level,” he refuted.
Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Cho Seung-hwan also said, “It is about 1/100,000th of the tritium concentration in Korea’s average sea area. “It has virtually no impact,” he emphasized.
The ruling and opposition parties also clashed over the ban on imports of Japanese seafood and labeling of the country of origin of ingredients on processed products.
Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Jae-gap said, “530 tons of processed fishery products from Fukushima and 659 tons of canned goods from nearby prefectures are coming to our tables in the form of dried salted seafood, etc.” “It is indicated,” he pointed out. At the same time, he said, “Shouldn’t we, like China, expand the ban on importing Japanese products to the entire country?”
Minister Cho responded, “It is excessive to (ban) all imports.”
People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Hee-yong said, “There are many issues raised about labeling the country of origin, but is it realistically possible to label agricultural products or marine products from Fukushima when they are processed elsewhere?” He added, “Labeling dozens of items by region requires thorough inspection.” “It is realistically impossible,” he countered.
Also, regarding the claim to completely ban the import of Japanese seafood, “If the damage cannot be scientifically verified, Japan will drag it into a dispute in the international community. “If we lose, who will be responsible?” he added, “rather than just blocking it, the public should take a highly strategic approach to prevent damage.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.