Questions mount over accuracy of government's Fukushima wastewater video view count

This captured image shows the YouTube video, created by the Korean government, about Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Captured from YouTube

By Jun Ji-hye

A YouTube video, created by the Korean government to mitigate anxiety over Japan's release of contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, has garnered more than 16 million views in less than two months.

However doubts have arisen regarding the possible manipulation of view counts as other videos created by the government have generated only about 300 to 2,000 views.

Chin Jung-kwon, a political critic and professor at Kwangwoon University in Seoul, ridiculed the “impressive” view counts, saying only K-pop stars such as BTS could have managed to garner such a number.

Japan began discharging the first batch of wastewater into the ocean on Thursday despite concerns raised by neighboring countries and fishing groups in the region.

The video in question was uploaded on July 7 to the government's official YouTube channel.

The video, titled “Korea's foremost experts telling the truth about Fukushima's contaminated water,” features various experts, including Jeong Yong-hoon, professor of nuclear and quantum engineering at KAIST and Kang Do-hyung, president of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology. They say in the video that Japan's wastewater release is scientifically safe and will not harm people's health or fish and seafood products.

Jeong Yong-hoon, professor of nuclear and quantum engineering at KAIST, talks in a YouTube video created by the government about safety concerns over Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. Captured from YouTube

The government's YouTube channel has 270,000 subscribers.

Chin said people “would have fallen for the lies” if the video had shown 160,000 views.

“16 million views? Is the government BTS or BLACKPINK? The government shouldn't go too far,” he said during his appearance in a CBS radio broadcast.

Rep. Jang Chul-min of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea also said the number of views was “incomprehensible from a common-sense point of view.”

“Even it took about a year for singer Lim Young-woong to garner 16 million views for his music video,” Jang said during his appearance on a YTN news program. “Did the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism spend a 10 billion won budget on only increasing the number of views?”

Earlier, the government said that a 10 billion won ($754,000) culture ministry budget was used to promote the video.

In response to growing doubts, the ministry said it did not manipulate the number.

It noted that it checked the YouTube data and confirmed that most of the viewers were located in Korea, denying suspicion that YouTube accounts outside the country were mobilized to raise the view count.

Rep. Sung Il-jong of the ruling People Power Party sided with the government, saying the video garnering many views was a “good thing.”

“It would be impossible to manipulate the number. The view counts showed how concerned people are about the issue,” he said during an appearance on a KBS radio broadcast.