President Yoon Seok-yeol and the presidential office did not make an official position on the discharge on the 23rd, the day before the marine discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. It seems that President Yoon’s position has been fully conveyed, and direct messages are refrained from.
With President Yoon’s message not coming out, voices demanding a direct explanation from the president are growing, centering around the opposition party. President Yoon has revealed the position that the president is the “control tower of safety.”
Following the day before when the Japanese government announced the time to release the contaminated water into the ocean, President Yoon did not send a related message on the day before the discharge. There was no briefing from the president’s office or press notice. The government’s official position the previous day was also conveyed not through the president, prime minister, or minister, but through the first deputy director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Park Gu-yeon, who is at the vice ministerial level.
This response seems to have been based on the judgment that both President Yoon and the government have already consistently expressed 먹튀검증a consistent position regarding the discharge of contaminated water.
The presidential office believes that measures for public safety have been taken to some extent as President Yoon’s request at the Korea-Japan summit on May 7 was accepted, including the dispatch of a Korean expert inspection team, monitoring, and information sharing. President Yoon reiterated his position on the contaminated water issue at the joint press conference of the Korea-US-Japan summit held at Camp David, USA on the 18th (local time), and it is judged that the official position was also expressed at the imminent release. At the time, President Yoon said, “ I trust the results of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” adding, “But IAEAIt is necessary for the international community, including Japan and Korea, to conduct a responsible and transparent inspection to see if it is handled according to the inspection and plan.”
Controversy over the disappearance of the message from the president, who is ultimately in charge of public safety, is spreading. At the critical crossroads of starting the release, the person in charge of state administration should reveal the government’s measures and future plans for public safety. Since June 15, the government has held a daily briefing, saying, “We are well aware that the public and media are very concerned about the release of contaminated water into the ocean” (Park Gu-yeon, Deputy General Manager 1). The issue of discharge of contaminated water was also discussed as an pending issue between the two countries during the Korea-Japan summits held in March and May. It is interpreted as an indicator that the government is fully aware of the seriousness of the issue and public concerns about the discharge of contaminated water.
Regarding this, it is pointed out that President Yoon is selectively responding to pending issues related to safety. It is said that it is sticking to selective silence on safety issues that are unfavorable to public opinion. In fact, President Yoon visited multiple sites even at the time of the last torrential rain, but in relation to the Osong underground car accident in which 14 people died, he did not visit the site and did not issue an official message, leading to criticism that he was ‘avoiding responsibility’. On the other hand, regarding the issue of public rental housing with missing rebars of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation ( LH ) and the recent indiscriminate crime response, the recognition of the problem and the countermeasures were revealed in detail through official remarks.
President Yoon said at the National Safety System Conference held right after the Itaewon disaster in November of last year, “The control tower for disasters and safety is the president.” At a press conference right after the presidential election, “I will honestly confess the government’s mistakes without hiding behind the staff. I will openly confess my practical difficulties and seek understanding from the people.” Upon his inauguration, he emphasized his belief that ‘ The buck stops here’ (I take all responsibility). However, such a response cannot be found in the issue of discharge of contaminated water.
Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, “(Regarding the discharge of contaminated water), the president’s office has no words.
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