South Korean Media: Several Seafood Markets in South Korea Nearly Deserted, Fishermen Concerned About Future Livelihoods

 According to South Korean Yonhap News Agency's report on the 24th, on the day Japan started discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea (Thursday, 24th), several seafood markets in South Korea were almost deserted, and fishermen expressed concerns about their future livelihoods.

Yonhap News Agency reported that the famous Jagalchi Market in Busan, known for seafood, and the nearby Moraeshigetang Town (famous for its many raw fish restaurants), were almost devoid of people on Thursday. The Dongmun Fish Market in the southern part of Jeju Island also had few customers.

According to the report, a seafood merchant who had been in business for over 20 years at the Dongmun Fish Market on Jeju Island said, "In the past, around 10 AM and 5-7 PM (these two time slots), even during slow business periods, the market used to be busy. But these days, the market is like an empty highway with no customers." He added, "Business was better even during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Another fisherman from Gunsan City, a coastal city in western South Korea, told Yonhap News Agency, "I feel frustrated just thinking about going to the seafood auction tomorrow. I think seafood consumption has decreased by a quarter, and prices may become even lower." He said, "I don't know how to continue anymore."

The report stated that at the Busan Cooperative Fish Market, a box of yellowtail tuna usually sells for 40,000 Korean won (about 220 Chinese yuan) or 50,000 Korean won (about 275 Chinese yuan). About 30% of seafood products in South Korea are sold at this market. On Wednesday (23rd), the price of a box of yellowtail tuna was less than half of the normal price, and the price of Korean people's main seafood variety, mackerel, was 10% to 20% cheaper than usual.

Yonhap News Agency's report mentioned that the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to significantly expand the scope of daily radioactive sample testing, test all sources of seafood products, and make the results public. The local government of Gyeongsangnam-do in South Korea stated that they will live stream their radioactive testing on the video-sharing platform YouTube and invite residents to supervise.

On August 24th, 13:00 local time in Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant started discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea. For more than two years, the legitimacy, legality, and safety of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water discharge plan have been questioned by the international community. Japan has not yet addressed major concerns from the international community regarding the long-term reliability of the purification equipment for nuclear-contaminated water, the accuracy of the data on nuclear-contaminated water, and the effectiveness of sea discharge monitoring arrangements. Relevant parties with interests, including China, have repeatedly pointed out that if the nuclear-contaminated water is safe, there is no need to discharge it into the sea; if it's not safe, it should not be discharged even more. Japan's push for discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea is unjust, unreasonable, and unnecessary.