Yoon Chang-yul, head of social policy coordination under the Office for Government Policy Coordination, announces on April 12 at the Government Complex-Sejong that the World Trade Organization has upheld Korea's ban on Japanese seafood sourced from areas near Fukushima. (Yonhap News)
By Xu Aiying and Kim Hwaya
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has upheld Korea's import ban on Japanese seafood from regions affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, saying the restriction did not violate the WTO's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.
The government on April 12 welcomed the decision, saying, "We will review our food protection level more thoroughly so that only safe food is put on people’s tables," adding, "The import restrictions will remain the same as before, thus all seafood from the eight prefectures near Fukushima (Prefecture) will be banned."
In September 2013, Seoul banned the import of all seafood caught from eight prefectures near Fukushima in the wake of the 2011 nuclear accident there. Japan officially lodged a complaint with the WTO against the decision in 2015.
Last year, the WTO dispute panel in the first trial sided with Japan by saying Korea's ban violated the SPS agreement. The accord is designed to allow a government to protect food safety and plant and animal health while preventing corresponding measures from imposing trade barriers.
The government then lodged an appeal in April last year, and the WTO overturned the panel's decision by saying the ban constituted neither arbitrary discrimination nor unfair trade.
"If even a small amount of radioactive matter is detected from imported food from Japan, we will require an inspection certificate for 17 additional radionuclides," Seoul said. "We will protect and improve the sovereignty of our quarantine and institutional safety net by striving to maintain regulations on imported food safety."