Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
Gov't to spend $2.2 billion over 6 years to address release of contaminated Fukushima water
Contaminated water is flowing down into the secondary pool as it is released into the sea, at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, Japan, Aug. 24. AP-Yonhap
By Jung Da-hyun
The government plans to spend more than 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) over the next six years to address the release of contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, according to an opposition lawmaker, Friday.
Adding to concerns is that there is no clear estimate of how many more decades the government will need to allocate funds to address the radioactivity issue, according to Rep. Jung Pil-mo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), who claimed that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s decision not to oppose Japan’s release of the wastewater has already placed an enormous burden on the nation's finances.
According to budget proposals of each ministry submitted by the National Assembly Budget Office to Rep. Jung, the total government budget to be disbursed by relevant ministries from this year through 2028 will amount to 3.14 trillion won.
The majority of this budget, totaling 3.11 trillion won, is allocated to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Following this, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission plans to execute 21.3 billion won, while the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is set to disburse 9.6 billion won.
In particular, the fisheries ministry’s budget will increase from 504.5 billion won this year to 712.4 billion won next year.
The total budget will be used to carry out 20 projects, aimed mostly at mitigating the potential losses that the fishing industry and fishermen may suffer from due to the release of the contaminated Fukushima water.
The most substantial portion of the budget will be earmarked for a reserve program on marine products, which mandates the government purchase pre-selected species and release them during off-seasons when there is a reduced catch or during holiday seasons when there is elevated demand for marine products. A total of 872.1 billion won will be invested in this program.
The budget will also be designated for other sectors, including a purchase loan program that provides preferential loans to private warehouse owners and fishery co-ops, as well as initiatives to promote consumption and support discounts for marine products available to the public.
Moreover, a portion of the budget is expected to be directed toward scientific endeavors, including the establishment of a monitoring system for marine radioactive materials and the development of rapid detection and prediction technology for radioactive contamination.
"The government should estimate the extent of both direct and indirect damage and actively exercise its right to indemnity against the Japanese government, which proceeded with its plan to discharge contaminated water, even while recognizing that neighboring countries may be affected,” Rep. Jung said.
Japan released its first discharge of treated wastewater from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean between Aug. 24 and Sept. 11, and the second between Oct. 5 and 23.
Japan’s Kyodo News reported on Thursday that the third discharge will begin on Nov. 2.
The country plans to continue discharging contaminated water until 2051 to decommission the nuclear reactor at Fukushima.