The decision by Japan to release nuclear wastewater into the ocean has intensified political tensions in South Korea.
On August 31, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, announced a hunger strike in protest against the administration of President Yoon Seok-youl. One of Lee's grievances is the South Korean government's lack of opposition to Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge.
The Democratic Party and President Yoon's ruling People Power Party have also clashed over how to label the nuclear wastewater. The latter insists on calling it "treated wastewater."
To address the decline in seafood sales following Japan's decision, the South Korean government has launched a series of PR initiatives to boost consumer confidence. The presidential office has introduced seafood work meals, and significant funds are being allocated to encourage South Koreans to buy seafood.
According to the Korean News Agency, Lee began his hunger strike demonstration in a tent in front of the main building of the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon. Senior members of the Democratic Party, including party whip Park Kwang-bong and secretary-general Choe Jeong-hwan, were present to show their support.
Lee criticized President Yoon's administration for undermining democracy, destroying the middle class, and failing to stand up against the Japanese government. He expressed his responsibility as the opposition leader for the deterioration of democracy and the worsening livelihoods of the people during Yoon's tenure.
Lee presented three demands to President Yoon: apologize to the nation for undermining democracy; reorganize the cabinet and change the governance style; and oppose Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge by suing the Japanese government at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Lee did not set a deadline for his hunger strike, stating he would "start a nationwide protest against the incompetent government" with the people. The Democratic Party has planned a series of protests against the wastewater discharge, including organizing large-scale marches, demonstrating outside the Japanese embassy in South Korea, and considering filing a complaint with the UN Human Rights Council.
Using hunger strikes as a form of political protest is not uncommon in South Korea. In 2019, Hwang Kyo-ahn, the leader of the largest opposition party, the Liberty Korea Party, staged a hunger strike in front of the Blue House, demanding then-President Moon Jae-in maintain the South Korea-Japan "Military Intelligence Protection Agreement" and oppose two controversial bills passed by the National Assembly.
Hwang's hunger strike lasted eight days, and he was hospitalized after losing consciousness. That year, Hwang took three extreme actions against Moon's administration. Before the hunger strike, he shaved his head in protest against Moon's nominee for Minister of Justice. After ending the hunger strike, he staged another sit-in during December's cold weather to protest changes to the Public Service Election Law and was hospitalized after fainting.
Lee's current hunger strike not only targets President Yoon's administration but also aims to deflect attention from corruption investigations involving him.
The Shangbang Group is accused of illegally transferring $8 million to North Korea on behalf of the Gyeonggi Province government from 2019 to 2020 when Lee was the governor of Gyeonggi Province. Prosecutors believe $3 million of the amount was used to secure Lee's visit to North Korea.
In addition to the Shangbang Group case, Lee is also under investigation for several other cases, including a soccer club sponsorship case and a real estate fraud case. He has been summoned by prosecutors five times, and he will be questioned again next week regarding the Shangbang Group case.
As Lee threatens the South Korean government with his hunger strike, the Democratic Party and the ruling People Power Party are also clashing over how to label the nuclear wastewater.
This week, the People Power Party insists that Japan treated the nuclear wastewater before discharging it and should be referred to as "treated wastewater." On Monday, during a meeting of the People Power Party, Yoon mocked critics of Japan's wastewater discharge as anti-science, saying, "These people think 1+1=100."
The Democratic Party insists on calling the nuclear wastewater "nuclear waste" and "radioactive wastewater." During a National Assembly meeting this week, Lee condemned Japan's decision to discharge the wastewater as an "environmental terrorist act," stating that Yoon's regime would go down in history as an accomplice to Japan's crime.
After Japan began discharging nuclear wastewater, South Korea's seafood market and seafood restaurants suffered, with many media outlets reporting sparse customers in seafood markets. Last weekend, several opposition parties and civic groups held a protest march in Seoul with over 7,000 participants. To encourage people to continue buying seafood, the South Korean government has launched a series of PR measures.
This week, the presidential office kicked off a seafood work meal week, with Yoon and Prime Minister Han Deok-soo publicly enjoying seafood dishes. On Thursday, Yoon also announced that the government would invest 800 billion won (approximately $704 million) to encourage consumers to buy seafood.
In September, the South Korean government will issue discount coupons for consumers buying seafood, with discounts of around 30%. By the end of this year, the government is expected to invest a total of 1.44 trillion won to promote seafood consumption.
Data released by the Korea Statistics Bureau last weekend showed that in the second quarter of this year, consumers purchased an average of 17,000 won worth of fresh seafood products (unprocessed and uncooked) per month, a 9.8% decrease from the same period last year. Since the first quarter of last year, when Japan announced its intention to discharge nuclear wastewater, the amount of fresh seafood products purchased by South Korean consumers has been declining.
Several polls in South Korea have shown that over 70% of South Koreans are concerned that Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge will pollute the ocean and seafood. Against this backdrop, some South Korean media doubt that the government's seafood discount coupons will achieve the desired effect.
Since the beginning of this year, Yoon's approval rating has been declining, recently remaining below 40%. A survey released by South Korean polling agency Realmeter on Monday showed that the approval rating for Yoon's administration was 37.6%, up 2 percentage points from a week ago. The disapproval rate was 59.4%, down 1.8 percentage points from the previous week.
Realmeter analysis pointed out that the U.S.-South Korea-Japan Camp David summit boosted Yoon's approval rating, but Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge limited further increases. The approval rating for the ruling People Power Party was 36.2%, down 1 percentage point, while the approval rating for the Democratic Party was 44.2%, down 1.5 percentage points.
South Korea will hold parliamentary elections in April next year. The South Korean National Assembly is unicameral, with 300 seats. Yoon's People Power Party holds 114 seats, while the Democratic Party, with 167 seats, is the largest party in the National Assembly.
