Substantial funding will be allocated for activities such as monitoring beach radioactivity, inspecting deep-sea water quality, and examining ship ballast water for radioactive contamination. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government intends to allocate funding of 3 trillion won over the next six years to address Japan’s release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
According to data from the National Assembly’s Budget Policy Office concerning the government’s response to the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, the government has set aside a total budget of 3.14 trillion won for the period spanning from 2023 to 2028. This allocation comprises 3.11 trillion won for the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, 21.2 billion won for the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, and 9.6 billion won for the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The funding will be distributed across 20 different projects.
Looking at the specific project areas, the largest portion of the budget, approximately 870 billion won, is earmarked for fisheries stockpiling. This is followed by approximately 720 billion won for secondary support of the fisheries financing fund and around 570 billion won for fisheries purchase support. These initiatives aim to mitigate the impact on the fisheries industry and support affected fishermen due to Japan’s release of contaminated wastewater.
Additionally, there are allocations of 462.4 billion won to promote fisheries consumption and support win-win discounts, 57.8 billion won for the establishment and operation of a marine radioactive material surveillance system, and 20.4 billion won for the development of rapid detection and prediction technology to address incidents of marine radioactive pollution. Moreover, substantial funding will be allocated for activities such as monitoring beach radioactivity, inspecting deep-sea water quality, and examining ship ballast water for radioactive contamination.
The issue lies in the uncertainty surrounding the duration for which such spending will be necessary, sparking criticism that the Yoon Suk-yeol government’s approach to handling Fukushima wastewater discharge will ultimately burden the national coffers.
TEPCO plans to conclude the decommissioning of the Fukushima nuclear reactors by 2051. However, many experts believe that the chances of this plan being executed as scheduled are low. Given that contaminated water will continue to be generated until the nuclear reactors are fully decommissioned, any delays in this process will inevitably extend the period of contaminated water discharge.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
