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| Protestors from the Korean fisheries industry take part in a rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Wednesday, to criticize Tokyo's decision to discharge radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Experts raise doubt about effectiveness of legal action
By Kang Seung-woo
The government's plan to pursue legal action to prevent Japan from dumping tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean is being met with skepticism from experts who question the effectiveness of the move and the chances of winning the case.
Instead, many advise Seoul to join forces with other countries that will also be immediately affected by the contaminated water, including China, which has reacted strongly to Tokyo's decision, as they believe this would be more effective.
In response to the Japanese government's decision to release the contaminated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, President Moon Jae-in instructed officials Wednesday to review taking the matter to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
The biggest stumbling block on the road to the international court would be that the government needs to be able to verify the damage from the radioactive water, that will be discharged two years from now, for up to 40 years. This was why Koo Yoon-cheol, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, failed to elaborate on the legal action during a press conference after an emergency vice-ministerial meeting at the Government Complex Seoul, Tuesday, to discuss the government's position and measures in response to Japan's announcement.
"If we decide to refer Japan to the international tribunal, we ourselves need to provide relevant data to prove that the radioactive water has caused serious damage to Korea," Koo said.
Japan has said it will release the water, containing tritium, a radioactive isotope byproduct of nuclear fission, in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes that the water disposal method is technically feasible.
For the lawsuit, Korea needs data that can take refute or overturn the IAEA's estimation, which is why the government has been urging Japan to disclose relevant data in a transparent way.
In addition there are few international legal precedents that back Korea's assertions on damage causes by environmental pollution.
"It is questionable how effective referring Japan to the international court would be as Korea must verify the damage even though this is expected to occur one year after the planned release," said Jin Chang-soo, the director of the Center for Japanese Studies at the Sejong Institute.
"We would be better trying to address the issue diplomatically first, leaving the legal action as a last resort. We need to be cautious about looking at legal action first."
Although the United States has endorsed Japan's decision to release the polluted water into the Pacific Ocean, there are many other countries expressing opposition, raising calls for Korea to cooperate with them.
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| Workers demolish old storage tanks including water processed in ALPS (Multi-nuclide retrieval equipment) after transferring to new tanks at tsunami-devastated Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture in this Jan. 22 2020 file. EPA-Yonhap |
On Wednesday, Korea and China held an inaugural working-level dialogue for maritime cooperation and reaffirmed their opposition to Japan releasing the contaminated water without a full consultation with neighboring countries, and agreed to consider measures depending on Tokyo's future response, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Along with Korea and China, Russia has also expressed "serious concern" over the decision and "regret" over a failure to consult with Moscow on the plan in advance, asking for more details on all aspects of the planned discharge of the radioactive water, according to the Tass state news agency.
In addition, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held a phone conversation with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan, Tuesday, and they addressed concerns over the issue and the potential risks to people and the surrounding environment.
"It will be helpful to hold a trilateral meeting between Korea, China and Japan or to form a multilateral dialogue platform with China, Russia and others for talks with Japan," said Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University.
Jin added: "It is better to discuss the issue in multilateral diplomacy and through it neighboring countries can urge Japan to handle the discharge transparently."
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