Joseph Yoon: "Designation of South Korea as a Sensitive Country Is Not a Big Deal... Limited to the Ministry of Energy"

At the AMCHAM Meeting on the 18th
"Regret Over Perception as a Major Issue... No Impact on Korea-U.S. Cooperation"

Joseph Yun, Charg? d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Korea, emphasized on the 18th at a special meeting hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, that the inclusion of South Korea on the U.S. Department of Energy's (DoE) sensitive countries list is "not a big deal," expressing regret that the situation has been perceived as out of control as if it were a major issue.

Joseph Yun, Charg? d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Korea, is speaking at a special meeting hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 18th. Photo by Yonhap News

Yun further explained, "The sensitive countries list is solely limited to the Department of Energy's laboratories," adding, "The U.S. Department of Energy has numerous laboratories such as Los Alamos National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory, which contain sensitive technologies and materials, and last year more than 2,000 Korean students and researchers visited these facilities."

He continued, "Such sensitive information must not leave the laboratories," explaining, "There have been some incidents because so many Koreans go to these laboratories for research, and that is why this list was created." He also stated, "South Korea was placed on the sensitive countries list due to some careless handling of sensitive information."

Additionally, Yun stressed, "Some Korean media and experts interpret this as a policy decision by the U.S. government, but that is not true," emphasizing, "This measure is an internal adjustment for security at U.S. research laboratories and does not affect Korea-U.S. cooperation in fields including artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology."

Earlier in January, the DoE added South Korea to the lowest category of the 'Sensitive Countries and Other Designated Countries List (SCL),' labeled as 'Other Designated Country,' drawing attention to the background of this decision. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which launched an investigation, announced the previous day, "After contacting the U.S. side, it was confirmed that including South Korea in the lowest tier of the sensitive countries list was not a diplomatic policy issue but was due to security-related concerns at laboratories under the Department of Energy."