"'Yoon's Nuclear Armament Theory' Designation as Sensitive Country... Deputy Prime Minister Choi: 'All Completely Groundless'"

Yoo Sang-im: "A Technical Matter... Officials Are Negotiating"

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Strategy and Finance, dismissed claims that South Korea's inclusion on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sensitive countries list was due to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's nuclear armament rhetoric, calling them "completely unfounded."

On the 15th, during a parliamentary question session, Choi responded to a question from Kim Jeong-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, who asked, "Isn't South Korea designated as a sensitive country because of the Yoon administration's unrealistic nuclear armament theory and the reckless push for nuclear power plant exports?" Choi said, "That is a statement that could have a very significant impact on national interests."

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance, is responding to a lawmaker's question during the economic sector interpellation held at the National Assembly plenary session on the 15th.

Regarding the reason for the sensitive country designation, he explained, "I understand it is a technical matter," adding, "The officials are currently negotiating." He continued, "The enforcement of the sensitive country measure was originally scheduled, so it was not a situation where it could be changed," and added, "Our goal in the negotiations is to provide explanations and reflect opinions on those aspects." He further noted, "The U.S. side has explained that there is no problem with normal scientific and technological cooperation between South Korea and the U.S."

Yoo Sang-im, Minister of Science and ICT, said during the parliamentary question session that there have been cases in the past where the designation was lifted several months after being imposed, emphasizing, "We must strive to have it lifted as soon as possible." She also explained, "(South Korea's designation) is the lowest of the three levels of sensitive countries, but there is inconvenience due to restrictions on free access."

Regarding the reason for the designation, she pointed out, "The exact cause is still unknown, and the U.S. has not announced it." She added, "Over the past decade, more than 2,000 Koreans have entered not only research institutes under the U.S. Department of Energy but also other research institutes in the U.S.," and speculated, "It seems that the increase in (Korean) high-level intellectuals has made this a somewhat sensitive issue."