Analyzing the Factors Contradicting Public Opinion and Governmental Decision-Making in the Attitudes of South Korea towards Japan’s Nuclear Contaminated Water

Authors

  • Yingning Wu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/c1zc2078

Keywords:

public opinion; decision making; international relation; Korea.

Abstract

In August 2023, Japan began to discharge a pile of nuclear contaminated water into the sea, which is very harmful to the environment and ecology as well as human health. South Korea, as one of Japan’s closest neighbours and also the most affected by nuclear-contaminated water, the public broke out in large-scale protests and marches in many places, and was strongly condemned by the opposition party. However, the Korean government also ignored domestic public opinion and the demands of the opposition parties this time and insisted on supporting the Japanese government’s behaviour. This paper analyses and compares the conflict between the Korean government and the public, Korean parties, and the international situation through this crisis. The study found that with the polarisation of the Korean political scene and the tension of the international situation, the two-party conflict at home, the international conflict between the two poles against the confrontation led by China, Russia and the United States, the two pairs of major contradictions are gradually severe, in which the interests of the involvement of the authorities and the regime of strife to the extent that the South Korean government authorities to ignore public opinion brought about by the negative impacts of the public opinion, so it chose to focus on stabilizing the situation at home and abroad to stabilize and consolidate the power. Understanding these factors is essential in comprehending the complexities and contradictions between public opinion and governmental decision-making.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health, “Issue 2023-15 September 1 ‘Asked 1,000 people’ in Fukushima Related Poll”, 1 September 2023, accessed 30 January 2024, http://www.eco-health.org/bbs/board.php?bo_table=sub02_02&wr_id=1156.

Realmeter, “Realmeter Weekly Tally: 3rd Week October 2023”, 20 October 2023, accessed 30 January 2024, https://reurl.cc/yYD21D.

Vincent. P, “Public Opinion”, SAGE Publications, Inc, 1992.

Stefaan. W, Karolin. S and Julie. S, “Politicians’ Reading of Public Opinion and its Biases”, Oxford University Press, 2022.

Jacobs, L. R., and R. Y. Shapiro, “Politicians don’t Pander: Political Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness”, University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Sheng. W, “An Analysis of Contemporary Korean Nationalism”, Contemporary International Relations, 2010.

Qinwei. G, “Interest Expression Mechanism and its Improvement in the Construction of Rule of Law Government”, Governence Studies, 2020.

Yul. S, Yang Gyu. K, and Hansu. P, “Diverging Perspectives on Improving Bilateral Relations: Analysis of the 2023 Korea-Japan Joint Opinion Poll”, 24 October 2023, accessed 30 January 2024, https://reurl.cc/OG5djg.

ITU, Ministry of Science and ICT (South Korea), 2020.

Embrain Public, Kstat Research, Korea Research International, and Hankook Research, Korea Social Science Data Archive (data support), “National Indicators Survey 108th: 4th week of October 2023”, accessed 30 January 2024.

Min. L & Xiao. T, “Japan’s nuclear sewage discharge into the sea fuels domestic political struggle in South Korea”, World Affairs Press Co. Ltd., 2023.

Haoyu. X, “Quasi-Trilateral Alliance: Trends and Limits of U.S.-Japan-South Korea Cooperation from the Camp David Summit”, Journal of Northeast Asia Studies, Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, 2023.

Downloads

Published

16-06-2024

How to Cite

Wu, Y. (2024). Analyzing the Factors Contradicting Public Opinion and Governmental Decision-Making in the Attitudes of South Korea towards Japan’s Nuclear Contaminated Water. Highlights in Business, Economics and Management, 35, 31-36. https://doi.org/10.54097/c1zc2078