The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday discounted the U.N. nuclear watchdog's report on Japan's radioactive water discharge plan as untrustworthy, while the ruling People Power Party (PPP) accused the DP of disregard for the top international agency on nuclear energy.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) unveiled the report Tuesday, saying Japan's plan to treat radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant and discharge it into the ocean meets international safety standards.
The report is likely to add new momentum to Japan's push to start discharging the water from the plant -- damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 -- sometime this summer despite opposition from neighboring countries, including South Korea and China.
On Wednesday, the DP discounted the report as unreliable, saying it was based on data provided by Tokyo.
"Without even conducting a facility inspection, the IAEA has concluded based on data submitted by Japan that there is no problem," DP leader Lee Jae-myung said during a party meeting, adding that a Japanese news report has said only 27 percent of the Fukushima water meets Japan's release criteria.
"President Yoon must answer. Will he entrust our waters and our lives entirely to unverified results? The Democratic Party will seek every measure to prevent the disposal of contaminated water into the ocean," he said.
DP floor leader Park Kwang-on also said the IAEA report was like something ordered by Japan.
"Japanese media outlets also gave an assessment this morning that the report failed to resolve concerns among fishermen opposed to the discharge and other stakeholders," he said.
The IAEA even noted that the discharge plan has raised political and environmental concerns, Park said, adding that the statement means the report cannot serve as a license for Japan to dump radioactive water into the sea.
"The IAEA is not an agency that analyzes people's health and the environment. It is an agency that attaches importance to nuclear power generation," he said. "The results of its investigation cannot but have low credibility."
Park urged the government to officially state its opposition to the release plan.
The DP also held an emergency meeting of all party lawmakers and decided to consider legislation banning all seafood imports from Japan, not just from Fukushima, if the contaminated water is released without consent from neighboring countries.
The PPP rejected the DP's criticism.
"The IAEA is an agency that has the highest-level expertise and authority on nuclear power," PPP leader Kim Gi-hyeon said, adding that disbelieving the IAEA report is "no different from giving up being a responsible member of the international community."
Kim further accused the DP of instigating distrust in an effort to use the issue for its attempt to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, just like it attempted to use the issue of mad cow disease to impeach the Lee Myung-bak government in 2008.
"What we need to do from now is to carry out the role of surveillance while closely monitoring whether the plan goes as scheduled and how to respond to unforeseen situations," he said, adding the ruling party and the government will take steps to address people's concerns, including strengthening safety checks on seafood.
He also urged Japan to offer sincere explanations and comply with verification demands.
"The Republic of Korea government will entirely ban seafood imports from Fukushima until people's concerns are laid to rest, no matter whether it takes 30, 50 or 100 years," he said.
The PPP also convened an emergency meeting of all party lawmakers, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the current ban on Japanese food products from the area around the plant until public concerns are alleviated.
The lawmakers also expressed the need to support fishermen whose livelihoods have been adversely affected by the decreased consumption of seafood.
"The government should come up with comprehensive support measures for the marine product industry," Rep. Yun Jae-ok, the party's floor leader, said during the meeting.
Source: Yonhap News Agency