News Coverage of Social Conflict: An Analysis of South Korean News Reports on the Discharge of Treated Radioactive Water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant

News Coverage of Social Conflict: An Analysis of South Korean News Reports on the Discharge of Treated Radioactive Water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant

Tensions and disputes over the discharge of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant triggered social conflict among diverse stakeholders in South Korea. Political actors, citizens, the fisheries industry and news media all had hot takes on the subject. This study analyzes South Korean conservative and progressive news media coverage of the discharge. Our findings reveal that the tone and types of news sources used in news coverage were different depending on the news organizations' political leaning. South Korean society's reactions to the impact of the discharge and conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties were frequently presented. Furthermore, this study also found that the news sources' perceptions of conflict over the discharge vary according to the types of news sources.