Korean team begins inspections at Fukushima plant

Diplomacy

Published: 22 May. 2023, 16:32 Updated: 24 May. 2023, 17:13

Korean team begins inspections at Fukushima plant

Yoo Guk-hee, chairman of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, speaks with the press in Japan on Monday before he and a group of Korean experts meet with their Japanese counterparts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo. [YONHAP]

The Korean team of experts began four days of inspections and meetings in Japan regarding the ruined nuclear power plant in Fukushima on Monday.

The 21-person team, arriving in Japan on Sunday, met with their Japanese counterparts in Tokyo that day.

In addition to hearing from the Japanese side about the overall treatment process of the contaminated water stored at the ruined Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the Korean team was also scheduled to meet with representatives of Tokyo Electric Power Co., and officials of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The team, headed by Yoo Guk-hee, chairman of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and consisting of experts from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, will visit the plant and its facilities on Tuesday and Wednesday, to observe the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) that handles the treatment of contaminated water at the ruined Fukushima nuclear power plant, and the K4 tanks storing the treated water.

"We will request the relevant necessary data about the K4 tanks, and the ALPS, as we inspect these facilities with our own eyes," said Yoo in speaking with the press before meeting with Japanese experts and officials on Monday.

They will hold another meeting with Japanese officials and experts on Thursday and brief the public in Korea after their return Friday.

While hailed as a reconciliatory agreement struck between the leaders of Korea and Japan in their recent summit meetings, liberal lawmakers in Korea criticized the inspectional visit, calling it a political show without much significance to ensure the safety of the people of Korea.

“What is an indisputable fact here is that Japan's release of contaminated water is an inappropriate and unjust act that will pose health risks to people,” said Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung in a party meeting on Monday.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, center, speaks at a party meeting in western Seoul on Monday. [KIM HYUN-DONG]

“A thorough and transparent inspection would be essential for the life and health of the people of Korea, yet the government abandoned the option to take a sample of the water, which would be key to this,” he added.

The Office of Government Policy Coordination had earlier dismissed the idea of collecting samples of the treated water from the plant, stating that this would violate the trust between the Korean government at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has been working with Japan to prepare the water’s release, collecting samples of the water and running tests on them to ensure the treated water is deemed safe enough to be released to the sea.

Members of the Democratic Party also took part in a rally in the Gwanghwamun area of central Seoul on Saturday to protest the Japanese decision to release the treated water.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, members of the liberal Justice Party and Progressive Party protest the Japanese plan to release treated radioactive water from the ruined Fukushima nuclear power plant, in front of the Korea Press Center in central Seoul on Saturday. [NEWS1]

A massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011, destroying the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Japan plans to gradually release tons of treated radioactive water from the defunct power plant into the sea — a plan that was announced in 2021 and has drawn strong opposition from fishing communities both at home and abroad.

The leaders of the Group of 7 gathered at Hiroshima last week for their annual summit meeting and issued a joint statement on Saturday, which included their support for the ongoing work at the IAEA to verify the safety of the treated water’s release.

“We welcome the steady progress of decommissioning work at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, and Japan’s transparent efforts with the International Atomic Energy Agency based on scientific evidence,” reads the statement.

“We support the IAEA’s independent review to ensure that the discharge of Advanced Liquid Processing System treated water will be conducted consistent with IAEA safety standards and international law and that it will not cause any harm to humans and the environment, which is essential for the decommissioning of the site and the reconstruction of Fukushima.”

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]