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Written: 2025-03-18 08:27:51Updated: 2025-03-18 08:28:38
Photo : YONHAP News
A contractor employee at the U.S. Department of Energy(DOE) was reportedly terminated after attempting to board a flight to South Korea with nuclear reactor design software, and the incident is presumed to be related to the U.S. designation of South Korea as a “sensitive country.” According to the DOE Office of the Inspector General's report to Congress on Monday, Idaho National Laboratory terminated the employee during the reporting period from October 1, 2023 through March 31 last year. The report said that the information in question is proprietary nuclear reactor design software owned by the laboratory. The report said that the Office of the Inspector General conducted a search of the employee's government email and chat history showing the employee's knowledge of export control restrictions and communications with a foreign government. The report, however, did not specify the foreign government. Earlier on Monday, South Korea’s foreign ministry said that the U.S. included South Korea in the lowest category of the “sensitive and other designated countries list due to “security concerns” related to government-affiliated institutes, not because of diplomatic policy issues.
The U.S. government reportedly told the ministry that South Korea's inclusion in the list was due to violations of security regulations during South Korean researchers' visits to DOE laboratories or participation in joint research projects.