U.S. designates South Korea as sensitive country amid energy technology leak attempt

As the U.S. Department of Energy cited security issues as the reason for designating South Korea as a sensitive country, reports have emerged that a contractor employee at a research institute under the Department attempted to leak reactor design software (SW) to South Korea.

According to a semiannual report submitted to the U.S. Congress by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Energy on 17th (local time) covering the period from Oct. 1, 2023, to Mar. 31, 2024, a contractor employee at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was caught trying to board a plane heading to South Korea while in possession of information subject to export controls and was subsequently fired.

The information the employee attempted to take to South Korea was reactor design SW owned by INL, and it was explained by the Office of the Inspector General that this information was related to patent information. The investigation by the Office found that this employee was aware that the information was subject to export controls and that there had been communications between the employee and a foreign government. However, the Office did not specify what kind of communication had taken place between the employee and the foreign government.

This matter is currently under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea stated that the inclusion of South Korea in the sensitive country list by the U.S. Department of Energy was determined to be due to security-related issues regarding research institutes under the Department rather than diplomatic policy issues. It has been reported that the U.S. side explained to the Ministry that South Korean research institute personnel were found to have violated security regulations of research institutes under the Department, which led to inclusion in the sensitive country list.

The government plans to discuss with the U.S. side to remove South Korea from the list before it takes effect on the 15th of next month, and it is expected that ways to alleviate U.S. security concerns will be discussed during this process. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy An Duk-geun plans to visit the U.S. this week to discuss energy issues with U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, addressing this matter.