The reason behind the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designating Korea as a sensitive country is partly attributed to an incident involving an employee of a contractor at a DOE research lab trying to leak information to Korea, according to analyses. A domestic research institution collaborating with this lab has distanced itself from the leak allegation.
According to a half-year report submitted to the U.S. Congress by the DOE’s Office of the Inspector General on the 17th, an employee of a contractor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) under the DOE was caught and fired for attempting to leak reactor design software to Korea. The office explained that the information the employee tried to take to Korea was reactor design software owned by INL, which is considered patent information.
The Inspector General’s office found that investigations into the employee’s emails and messenger records revealed they were aware the information was subject to export control and had communication with foreign governments.
Previously, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this was a security issue related to a DOE lab, not a matter of foreign policy. This incident seems to be a strong reason why the DOE classified Korea as a sensitive country and added it to the Sensitive Countries List (SCL).
The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), a major domestic research organization that conducts joint research with INL, is involved in pyroreprocessing spent nuclear fuel with INL.
A KAERI official, in a call with a reporter, stated, “We have found nothing to match the person or incident reported,” adding, “This happened only because of our joint research; we have no connection to it.” The official further clarified that while individual researchers may make inquiries, the institution did not request related information from INL.