Rep. Kim Joo-young (Democratic Party of Korea, Gimpo City Gap), a member of the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee, pointed out the unauthorized discharge of Japanese live fish into seawater at the Korea Customs Service audit held at the Daejeon Government Complex on the 12th.
Rep. Kim called for strong measures to be taken against the behavior of Japanese live fishing boats that illegally discharge Japanese seawater, which may be radioactively contaminated, into the waters off Busan, Korea.
Representative Kim said, “Last year alone, live fish trucks from eight nearby prefectures, including Fukushima, entered the port 191 times,” and “despite the ban on importing marine products, they are brazenly entering domestic ports and discharging seawater.”
Representative Kim said, “The problem is that live fish trucks are dumping Japanese seawater into our seas without permission before returning to Japan,” and “According to data from the Busan Port Authority, the seawater discharge from these live fish trucks was 16,904 tons as of last year.” “It amounts to 7,080 tons in just 8 months of this year.”
He continued, “There is a seawater treatment facility at the Port of Busan that undergoes radioactivity testing, but use of the facility is only recommended, not mandatory, so only about 60% of vehicles discard seawater here,” adding, “About 40% of live fish trucks are allowed to freely leave Japan in the Busan sea.” “They are carrying seawater and discarding it, and we need to take measures against this unauthorized discharge,” he emphasized.
He also said, “There are 30 nuclides that are subject to measurement in contaminated water that the Japanese government determines on its own, but our country is currently testing only one.” He added, “For the lives and safety of the people, we must immediately prepare measures to improve the management of imported goods from Japan and unauthorized discharge of seawater.” “I do it,” he said.
Go Gwang-hyo, Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, said, “Together with the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission and the Busan Port Authority, we will thoroughly conduct radioactivity tests and attach customs seals to prevent the water tank from being opened during transportation to prevent unauthorized discharge of seawater.”
(DaejeonㆍChungnam = News 1)
Source: Donga
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