Nuclear crisis: Opposition leader goes on hunger strike

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea’s main opposition, announced that he has launched a hunger strike in response to the government’s policy regarding the dumping of radioactive wastewater in Fukushima.

According to the Yonhap report, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the country’s main opposition Democratic Party (DP), said: “The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has destroyed constitutional order and democracy and has declared war on the people “. He stated that he began an indefinite hunger strike from today.

The main opposition leader also called on Yoon to apologize for “destroying” the people’s livelihood and democracy, to voice his opposition to the dumping of diluted radioactive water and to reshuffle the Cabinet. Lee Jae-myung had participated in protests in the capital Seoul on August 26, which drew thousands of people against the discharge of radioactive wastewater in Fukushima, Japan.

It was noted that South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Han Duck-so had a seafood lunch on Aug. 28, and a variety of seafood will be served throughout the week at the President’s Office cafeteria.

RESPONSIBLE evacuation

Radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima In-Dai nuclear power plant, which was damaged in the tsunami that followed the 2011 earthquake in Japan, began to be discharged into the ocean on August 24.

According to the previously announced plan, Japan will discharge 7,800 tons of sewage into the ocean in 7 days in the first phase. A total of 31,200 tons of radioactive wastewater is expected to be discharged by March 2024. The plan has sparked a reaction from fishermen and environmental activists living in the region, as well as from neighboring countries, especially China. .

The International Atomic Energy Agency, in its report released on July 4, following its investigations at the plant, concluded that Japan’s sewage dumping plan complied with safety standards and that the damage it could cause to people and the environment was “negligible”.

The tsunami caused by the magnitude 9 earthquake in March 2011 damaged 3 of the 4 nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Dai-içi Nuclear Power Plant, and the vicinity of the power plant was declared an “evacuation zone” due to radioactive fallout. (AA)