S Korea condemns UN nuclear watchdog chief

South Korean opposition lawmakers sharply criticized the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog yesterday for its approval of Japanese plans to release treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

They met with Rafael Grossi in a tense meeting in Seoul that took place while protesters screamed outside the door.

Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency's director general, arrived in South Korea over the weekend to engage with government officials and critics and help reduce public concerns about food safety, after the IAEA last week approved the Japanese discharge plans, saying the process would meet international safety standards and post negligible environmental and health impacts.

In his meeting with members of the liberal Democratic Party - which controls a majority in South Korea's parliament - Grossi said the IAEA's review of the Japanese plans was based on "transparent" and "scientific" research.

The lawmakers responded by harshly criticizing the IAEA's review, which they say neglected long-term environmental and health impacts of the wastewater release and threatens to set a bad precedent that may encourage other countries to dispose nuclear waste into sea.

The party has also criticized the government of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for endorsing the safety of the Japanese plans and putting people's health at risk while trying to improve relations with Japan.

"If you think (the treated wastewater) is safe, I wonder whether you would be willing to suggest the Japanese government use that water for drinking or for industrial and agricultural purposes, rather than dumping it in the sea," Woo Won Shik, a Democratic Party lawmaker, told Grossi. The party said Woo has been on a hunger strike for the past 14 days to protest the Japanese discharge plans.

Meanwhile, dozens of protesters shouted near the lobby of the National Assembly's main hall where the meeting was taking place, holding signs denouncing the IAEA and Japan.

Hundreds of demonstrators had also marched in downtown Seoul on Saturday demanding that Japan scrap its plans.