Seoul office worker Kim Mijeong said she intends to stop eating seafood because she deeply mistrusts the safety of Japan's release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from its crippled nuclear power plant.
"We should absolutely cut back on our consumption of seafood. Actually, we can't eat it," Kim said."I can't accept the Japanese plan because it's too unilateral and is proceeding without countermeasures."Many foreign experts said the water discharge will have a negligible impact on the environment and human health. The International Atomic Energy Agency also said it has experts on the ground to ensure the release goes as planned.
In South Korea, fierce domestic political wrangling has erupted over its own government's endorsement of the Japanese plan. Liberal critics accused the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol of pushing to improve ties with Japan at the sacrifice of public health. Yoon administration officials have tried to ease public concerns by expanding radiation tests on seafood at major fish markets. Last month, some governing party lawmakers even drank seawater from fish tanks at a seafood market in Seoul to emphasize food safety.But surveys of South Koreans show that more than 80% of respondents oppose the Japanese discharge plan and more than 60% said they won't eat seafood after the water release begins.
In a seafood market in the southeastern port city of Busan, fishmonger Kim Hae-cheol said his revenues have halved since a few months ago and worried that his business would suffer more after the start of the discharge. Hong Seong-been, a Seoul resident, said political strife over the release has left many with a lack of genuine information about whether the water is truly safe or not.
During lunch hour, some residents rushed to Japanese restaurants and supermarkets to have what they called their last"safe" sushi meals.
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