Opposition party seeks ban on import of processed goods from Fukushima

The task force of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) holds a press conference to explain the results of a parliamentary audit regarding the issue of Fukushima's contaminated water release at the National Assembly, Monday. Yonhap

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is seeking to introduce legislation that would prohibit the importing of processed products from the vicinity of Fukushima and enhance the labeling of product origin.

The DPK’s task force, addressing concerns about the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Monday, explained issues raised by seven standing committees, including the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans, and Fisheries Committee.

The primary concern is that processed foods, including frozen seafood, can also be categorized as marine products. However, it has been noted that radioactive contamination levels in these products are not adequately managed when they are imported into Korea.

Since September 2013, Korea has banned the importing of seafood caught in eight prefectures, including Fukushima due to concerns over possible radioactivity.

Nevertheless, there have been instances of processed products like frozen items, dried goods, salted products and canned goods, which use seafood from Fukushima, being sold and distributed without adequate scrutiny, posing a potential food safety issue.

To address this issue, the task force has decided to pursue legislation that would completely ban the importing of products from Fukushima, including processed items.

In addition to the total ban on imports of processed products, the task force has come up with a plan to introduce a bill that would provide more detailed labeling of the country of origin.

Currently, the country of origin is marked at the national level. The bill includes that the origin of the products should be marked at a prefectural level. The purpose of this change is to ensure the public's right to know the source of their food purchases, according to the DPK task force.

It also intends to establish a fund to support fishermen affected by Japan's discharge of contaminated water and implement a systematic approach to addressing the damage suffered by fishermen and affected regions.

Furthermore, the task force urged the government to work toward enacting regulations regarding radioactivite ingredients in meals provided to students in collaboration with local councils.

The DPK also announced its plan to invite a special rapporteur from the U.N. Human Rights Council at the National Assembly level.

“We are planning to invite Marcos Orellana, a special rapporteur at the U.N., to the National Assembly to highlight the issue of discharging contaminated water and discuss potential future cooperation,” said Rep. Kim Sung-whan, the head of the strategic planning division of the task force.

Meanwhile, Fukushima is set to commence its third release of contaminated water on Thursday. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has indicated its intention to release 7,800 tons of diluted contaminated water over a period of 17 days, under the condition that the tritium content in the water is less than 1,500 becquerels per liter.

A total of 15,600 tons of contaminated water have been released during the second phase.