(LEAD) S Korea-Fukushima-seafood

▲ A citizen participates in the process of checking the safety of seafood in the southern port city of Tongyeong on June 27, 2023. (Yonhap)

▲ Lee Jeong-mi (C), leader of the progressive minor opposition Justice Party, speaks as she stages a hunger strike in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on July 3, 2023, to protest Japan's plan to discharge radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) S Korea-Fukushima-seafood

(LEAD) S. Korea to launch intense inspection into seafood imports on Fukushima woes

(ATTN: ADDS result of recent inspection in last para, photo)

SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will conduct an "unprecedentedly intense" special inspection into the marking of country of origin for imported seafood products amid concerns over Japan's planned release of contaminated water from its crippled nuclear power plant, the oceans ministry said Wednesday.

The 100-day intensive inspection will begin this month to check if importers, distributors and retailers properly mark the origin of major seafood items coming from overseas, such as scallops, sea bream and sea squirts, Vice Oceans Minister Park Sung-hoon said during a regular briefing on the Fukushima issue.

Japan plans to release radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the sea soon, as the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday that a two-year review found Tokyo's plan to be consistent with its safety standards.

South Korea banned all seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima in 2013 on concerns over their radiation levels in the wake of the meltdown incident in 2011.

The Seoul government has said it will not lift the import curbs as the people's safety and health can never be compromised.

The planned inspection will mobilize "all personnel available" from the ministry, local governments and the Coast Guard, as well as civic groups and food service associations, and those who violate rules will face strict punishment, Park added.

Those who fail to mark the country of origin can face fines up to 10 million won (US$7,600) and those who forge the mark can face up to seven years in prison or fines up to 100 million won.

"The 100-day inspection will be conducted in an unprecedented manner so that the people can buy and eat safe seafood without concerns," Park said.

During the first half of this year, South Korea imported 10,710 tons of seafood from Japan, accounting for 2 percent of the country's total seafood imports.

In May and June, the government inspected domestic distribution channels of Japanese seafood and caught 158 retailers for improper or no origin marks.

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