S. Korea to file complaint with IMO on Fukushima issue if Japan reneges on original release plan

South Korea will “strongly” file a complaint against Japan with the U.N. maritime safety agency if Tokyo does not follow its original plan regarding the release of contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, Seoul’s oceans ministry said Friday.

Last week, Japan began discharging radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was crippled by a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami, into the sea.

All eyes are on whether the issue will be discussed during next month’s meeting on the London Convention and Protocol framework under the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

South Korea has called for discussions on the potential impacts of the release on the marine environment under the framework, while Japan has refuted the call, claiming that such a discharge should not be seen as an act of marine dumping.

“The government is reviewing details and strategies regarding the possible discussions. We will strongly file a complaint with the IMO or seek other international dispute settlement tools if Japan carries out the release in a different way from its earlier promises,” Vice Oceans Minister Park Sung-hoon said during a regular briefing on the Fukushima issue.

According to a document drawn up after a Protocol meeting in 2022, the IMO said it is “not certain” that a broad interpretation of the London Protocol would consider that such a disposal would fall within the scope of the treaty, and member nations differ on the interpretation.

The London Convention, which has been in force since 1975, is meant to promote the effective control of all sources of marine pollution and to take steps to prevent marine pollution by the dumping of waste and other matter.

In 1996, the London Protocol was agreed in order to modernize the Convention, and it prohibits all dumping, with some exceptions.

IMO Secretary-General Lim Ki-taek told a press interview in Seoul in June that parties concerned can discuss policy measures on the Fukushima issue during upcoming meetings, and the IMO, apart from that, is reviewing what it can do.