South Korean protesters hold placards reading "We oppose the dumping of Fukushima contaminated water into the sea" outside a room hosting a meeting between Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and officials from South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party at the National Assembly in Seoul on July 9, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)
SEOUL – A group of South Korean opposition lawmakers on Monday departed for Japan to protest at its planned discharge of radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean.
Nine lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party and two liberal independents flew to Japan earlier in the day for a three-day trip, according to the Democratic Party.
After arriving in Tokyo, the lawmakers held a protest rally in front of the official residence of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in cooperation with Japanese civic activists, according to the Democratic Party
The lawmakers were quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying at the airport before their departure that they would meet with politicians, experts and civic activists in Japan to strengthen their solidarity struggle and promote South Korea's opposition to the nuclear-contaminated water release through the global media.
They vowed to do their best to prevent the Fukushima wastewater discharge through international cooperation.
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After arriving in Tokyo, the lawmakers held a protest rally in front of the official residence of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in cooperation with Japanese civic activists, according to the Democratic Party.
The South Korean lawmakers planned to make a protest visit to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Regional Office in Tokyo and hold a sit-in protest in front of the National Diet of Japan.
They planned to announce a joint statement on Tuesday with a group of Japanese lawmakers opposing the release plan and hold a press conference with foreign media outlets in Japan and a protest march on Wednesday.
DP lawmakers earlier slammed the IAEA final report on Japan's planned discharge of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific.
According to Yonhap news agency, Woo Won-shik, a DP lawmaker, said at a meeting with visiting IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Sunday that "(the IAEA's) verification was biased in favor of Japan from the beginning, losing its neutrality and objectivity."
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Woo, who has been on a hunger strike for 14 days to protest against the Fukushima wastewater release, said it is very regrettable that (the IAEA) made a conclusion without properly investigating the discharge impact on neighboring nations, making it "self-verification" and "a Japan-tailored investigation."
For his part, Grossi said it is "absolutely logical" that the South Korean public has been paying attention to the issue, and the IAEA would establish a permanent office in Fukushima to closely monitor how the discharge process is implemented over the next three decades.
Grossi faced a group of South Korean protesters near an international airport late Friday night when he arrived in Seoul for a three-day visit.
The IAEA chief also met Yoo Guk-hee, head of South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and Foreign Minister Park Jin on Saturday, a day before his meeting with DP lawmakers.
The Japanese government has been pushing for dumping the contaminated wastewater this summer from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was hit by a massive earthquake and an ensuing tsunami in March 2011.