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Two trillion won lost to fearmongering politics

Published: 15 Oct. 2025, 00:02

Kim Jung-ha

The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.

According to recently released National Assembly data, the Korean government spent 2.35 trillion won ($1.6 billion) between 2021 and August this year to monitor and respond to Japan’s release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Yet over the two years following the start of the discharge in August 2023, 99,932 radiation tests conducted by authorities found not a single case exceeding safety limits. In effect, more than 2 trillion won in taxpayer money was spent without uncovering any threat.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) officials show the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to foreign correspondents during a press tour on Feb. 6, 2023. [YONHAP]

There is nothing wrong with preparing for radiation risks. The question is whether the government’s response is based on scientific reasoning and proportional to actual danger. Medical procedures such as X-rays and CT scans emit radiation, but their benefits far outweigh the risks, which is why they are routinely used. By that logic, the Fukushima discharge was never as alarming as it was made out to be, according to most scientists.

The only radioactive material left in the 1.24 million tons of treated Fukushima wastewater is tritium, which cannot be removed by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). The total tritium content amounts to only about 3 grams (0.1 ounces). By contrast, natural processes produce roughly 200 grams of tritium annually on Earth, and about 5 grams fall as rain over the East Sea each year. Moreover, the released water travels through ocean currents that circulate via the U.S. West Coast and the equator before reaching waters near Korea. In such vastness, 3 grams of tritium are diluted beyond significance. Worrying about X-rays would be more realistic.

Still, what some call “fearmongering politics” led to an enormous waste of public funds. When the Yoon Suk Yeol administration concluded in 2023 that Fukushima wastewater posed no scientific risk, the same groups that had fueled panic during the 2008 mad cow disease protests resurfaced. Left-wing organizations declared that Japan was committing “the worst environmental crime in human history,” suggesting radioactive fish would soon appear on Korean tables. The Democratic Party (DP) seized on the anti-Japan sentiment. Its leader, Lee Jae Myung, staged a 24-day hunger strike opposing the discharge, while Representative Jung Chung-rae denounced it as “Japan’s oceanic invasion,” calling for nationwide resistance.

As public anxiety mounted and seafood consumption plummeted, the government felt compelled to pour resources into damage control. Now, under President Lee, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has reduced its Fukushima-related budget for 2026 by 31 percent, to 498.3 billion won— roughly the same level as before the discharge. The cut effectively acknowledges that no lasting problem has emerged.

This pattern is not new. The Korea Economic Research Institute estimated that the 2008 mad cow disease scare cost society 3.75 trillion won, even though no Korean has ever contracted the disease from U.S. beef. Those who spread false claims about “holes forming in brains” never apologized.

Participants shout slogans during a nationwide rally against the release of treated wastewater from Fukushima near the Korea Press Center in Seoul on August 26, 2023. [YONHAP]

The 2016 controversy over electromagnetic waves from the THAAD missile defense system was equally groundless. Then-lawmaker Choo Mi-ae of the DP warned that “strong radiation within 3.5 kilometers” of THAAD sites made the area unsafe. Measurements later showed that THAAD’s emissions were weaker than those of cell phones. When DP figures descended on Seongju, North Gyeongsang, chanting about “microwave-baked melons,” local farmers suffered serious economic losses — but no one was held accountable.

Ending this cycle requires holding those who spread unfounded fears legally and politically responsible. Yet in Korea, such accountability is rare. Baseless claims fade without consequence, and those proven wrong rarely admit it. In recent years, even some conservatives have embraced conspiracy theories about “rigged elections.” Bad ideas, it seems, spread faster than the truth.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.