Civic groups in the southeastern coastal city of Busan participate in protests denouncing the planned release of contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima plant in this file photo taken April 20, 2023. (Yonhap)
BUSAN, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — A regional court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by an association of civic groups to stop the planned release of contaminated water from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
A coalition of 166 civic groups in the southeastern port city of Busan filed the lawsuit in April 2021 against Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima plant, arguing the wastewater from the Fukushima plant is among the eight substances prohibited from disposal into the sea under the London Convention and Protocol on the protection of the marine environment.
Both South Korea and Japan are parties to the treaty.
The Busan District Court ruled Thursday the lawsuit is invalid because the international treaty is not something designed to deal with legal actions taken by people of a treaty party against people of another treaty party, rejecting the suit.
The court also rejected the plaintiffs’ claim that the Civil Act, which requires people to take appropriate measures to not harm or disturb their neighbors’ lives with hazardous substances, should be equally applied when deliberating on the case against Japan.
“It is difficult to say that this court has jurisdiction to rule on an international case based on the Civil Act in light of legal definitions and the interpretational attitude of the Supreme Court’s precedent rulings,” the court said.
The civic groups immediately denounced the court ruling and accused the court of taking the side of Tokyo Electric, saying they will appeal the decision in a higher court.
“The ruling on Thursday, which seems like a political decision, may lead to the dumping of all sorts of radioactive water in the sea and cause problems for future generations,” said Min Eun-ju, the secretary general of the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements in Busan.
The civic group also urged the government to file a suit against the Japanese company with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
(Yonhap)
