Most people arriving in South Korea from Japan do not receive checks for radiation contamination that may pose health risks for the general public, an opposition lawmaker said Sunday.

South Korea has been operating "radiation detection gates" at all major airports with direct flights to Japan since March 17, but checkups are carried out on a voluntary basis.

Citing reports by Incheon and Gimpo international airports, Rep. Kwon Sun-taik of the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party said only around 20 percent of passengers arriving from Japan go through the gates.

The screening was ordered after the Fukushima nuclear power station located 250 kilometers northeast of Tokyo started releasing radioactive materials into the atmosphere on March 12 after it was hit hard by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami.

"In the case of Incheon International Airport, only 18.2 percent of passengers were checked," the two-term lawmaker said.   

He claimed that talks should be held with Tokyo to get passengers to be screened for radiation before they leave Japan as well as on arrival.

So far, no arrivals from Japan have been found to be contaminated with radioactivity exceeding the permissible level, according to the government.

(Yonhap News)