South Korea's fisheries ministry held the first of a series of nationwide briefings for the public Tuesday to explain seafood safety amid Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.
The Oceans and Fisheries Ministry said Monday the briefings will continue until late June to provide scientific information on the treated water at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that Japan plans to start discharging in the summer.
The first event was held in the southern port city of Busan with about 40 people -- all working in the local fisheries industry -- in attendance, a ministry official said.
Song Sang Keun, the vice fisheries minister, said Monday, "(The ministry) plans to meet face-to-face with the public, especially those working in the fisheries industry, to explain how safe our marine products are, based on scientific and objective facts."
"There is no way that inappropriate marine products will get to the table of our people," Song added.
He also emphasized that the ministry wants to prevent seafood consumption from slowing down due to incorrect information about the treated water.
Prime Minister Han Duck Soo said during a parliamentary session on Monday that the government may have to take legal action in cases in which the fisheries industry is negatively affected by the spread of false information about the safety of seafood.
Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party have accused the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol of misleading the public about the impact of the treated water on health and the ocean environment.
South Korea sent a delegation of experts to Japan last month to assess the safety of the planned release of the treated water. The experts observed the water treatment system at the Fukushima plant and confirmed other equipment.
The delegation will release the outcome of its inspection after the International Atomic Energy Agency issues a report about its review of the water release process, which is expected by the end of June, the head of the delegation suggested after its inspection was completed in late May.
Since the nuclear crisis, triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan in March 2011, a vast amount of water contaminated in the process of cooling melted reactor fuel has accumulated at the plant, mixing with rain and groundwater.
The plan to release the treated water has met strong opposition from local fishermen, as well as South Korea and some other neighbors.
Taiwan's nuclear energy authority said in a statement Monday that the island's inspection team arrived in Japan and will stay until Saturday to observe the facilities and operations of an advanced liquid processing system capable of removing radionuclides other than tritium in water.
Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu said during a regular press briefing Tuesday the government has called on Japan to fulfill its obligation to provide information openly and transparently to enable scientific inspection.
About 1.33 million tons of treated water was stored on the plant's premises as of late April, approaching the total capacity of 1.37 million tons, according to the plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.
Related coverage:
South Korean experts to continue analysis on Fukushima water discharge
South Korean experts begin 2-day inspection of Fukushima nuclear plant
