SEOUL: The US energy department put South Korea on a watchlist because visitors to its laboratories mishandled sensitive information, Joseph Yun, the acting US ambassador, said on Tuesday (Mar 18).
The designation, which relegated the US ally to the lowest tier of a list that includes China, Iran, Israel, Russia, Taiwan, and North Korea, sparked controversy and debate in Seoul, which said it had not been notified by Washington.
“South Korea was put on this list because there was some mishandling of sensitive information,” Yun said in remarks to the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea.
He did not elaborate on the issue, but said more than 2,000 South Korean students, researchers, and government officials visited US labs last year.
The designation was limited to the department’s facilities, Yun added, and did not have wider implications for cooperation between the allies.
“It is not a big deal,” he added. “There were some incidents because there were so many South Koreans going there.”
This week the US energy department confirmed it had designated South Korea a “sensitive” country in January, but did not explain why.
Vice ministers in Seoul were set on Tuesday to brief acting President Choi Sang-mok on their response, while Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun is expected to ask for South Korea to be dropped from the list when he visits the United States this week, government sources have said.
