[미오 사설] Find follow-up reports of missing radioactive material spills

On the 7th, Pohang MBC reported that “a result of KHNP’s own investigation showed that the Wolseong nuclear power plant site may have been exposed to a wide range of radioactive contamination.” Based on radioactive material contamination, it reported the detection levels of’tritium’, a radioactive material in groundwater at about 10 Wolseong nuclear power plants last year.

Considering that no radioactive material has ever leaked to the outside in Korea, that the amount of tritium detected is 18 times that of the management standard, and that tritium can cause DNA modification and damage the human body. The reporting wave had to be large. There were also traces of up to 924 becquerels of tritium detected in the northern border area hundreds of meters from the site of the nuclear power plant.

As local residents showed interest in the report, the Andong MBC homepage, which reported the same report as Pohang MBC, was paralyzed. The Pohang MBC report raises questions about the safety of nuclear power plants. If the result is contrary to the basic common sense that radioactive materials are sealed and no leakage is allowed due to the structure of a nuclear power plant, it is our job to discuss the issue through follow-up reports.

But strangely enough, the response of our media to the report on Pohang MBC was quiet. After the report on the 7th, there was news citing the Pohang MBC report mainly by local media, but the central daily newspaper rarely covered the related news. I am curious what the judgment is that it is not news.

And the related report that suddenly poured out on the 11th after the weekend was that the Pohang MBC report was exaggerated or distorted. The tritium standard reported in the MBC report is the emission limit standard, and it is argued that the ’18 times’ detection standard is exaggerated because it was applied to the measurement at a specific point’inside’ the nuclear power plant.

Many media also said, “The annual exposure of tritium by residents around Wolseong is equivalent to 16 bananas or 1 gram of anchovies, and about 1/100 of a chest X-ray” The MBC report was confirmed as’conspiracy theory. KHNP’s position is that “all tritium detection is located inside the site of a nuclear power plant and cannot be regarded as an external leak.”

However, it is a very insufficient explanation in that the cause of the leakage of radioactive materials has not been identified, and the danger itself cannot be offset. According to a follow-up report from MBC on the 10th, the maximum detection of tritium per reactor was up to 13 times higher than the management standard in the result of investigating the level of groundwater radioactivity in the collecting well near the’Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Tank’. Citizens cannot sympathize with the appearance of’selective reporting’ as a’conspiracy theory’ after being silent about issues that may have fundamental problems with nuclear power plant safety.

Furthermore, reports that the prosecution’s’nuclear investigation’ toward the regime may be wrong and that there is a conspiracy to open public opinion is hidden, but it is rather a’conspiracy theory’. Even if there are exaggerated and distorted contents, the priority is to urge for transparent results even through a full investigation after listening to various experts’ opinions on matters directly related to the safety of people’s lives. Deliberately reporting false facts does not distort public opinion, but it is also distorting public opinion to completely cover up certain facts through’selective reporting’.

One of the selective reporting methods is to admit one’s fault as a food service. It is a matter of handling misinformation. It has become a daily routine for our media to report largely and report small when it is revealed as misinformation.

On December 24 last year, the Chosun Ilbo reported on the 1st and 8th pages that “a Korean ship smuggled oil to North Korea and was detained and searched for boarding by the Chinese authorities for a week.” If true, it would be a violation of the UN Security Council sanctions resolution against North Korea and could be humiliated by the international community as a’crime scene’ of a Korean ship was discovered by China.

However, the Chosun Ilbo did not seek confirmation from Korean ships and government ministries. Eventually it turned out to be a misinformation. Rather, a Korean shipping company said that even though it was legally refueling over the high seas, China illegally occupied the ship and suffered damage. It was a matter to protest against China, which imposed sanctions on normal import and export activities without legal grounds.

The Chosun Ilbo featured on December 24, 1 column of 6 columns, 38 lines on page 1, 3 columns and 42 lines on page 8, as related articles, and entered the oboe on December 31 with 1 column and 29 lines of 6 columns on page 2 Revealed. He only apologized for a week after reporting content that could adversely affect diplomatic relations. If you look at the apology, you do not know the reason for the misreporting. Instead, the Chinese embassy in Korea put on the position of Hae Myeong-seong, who investigated Korean ships, emphasizing that it is’true’ that the Chinese maritime police investigated our ship. The size of the paper is also a problem, but it is unclear whether or not the fault is admitted just by looking at the content. In the new year, the common promise of media companies was’reader-friendly’. Acknowledging misinformation in form and content is the fastest way to get closer to your readers.

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