U.S. Puts South Korea on Watchlist Over Sensitive Lab Data Mishandling
The United States Department of Energy has placed South Korea on a watchlist due to incidents involving the mishandling of sensitive information by visitors to its laboratories, Joseph Yun, the acting U.S. ambassador to South Korea, announced on Tuesday.
This designation, which reclassified the Republic of Korea to the lowest tier on the list, has sparked controversy and debate in Seoul, with officials expressing surprise over the decision.
“South Korea was put on this list because there was some mishandling of sensitive information,” Yun stated during remarks to the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. He did not provide specific details about the incidents but noted that over 2,000 South Korean students, researchers, and government officials visited U.S. laboratories last year.
Yun emphasized that the designation is limited to the Department of Energy’s facilities and does not have broader implications for cooperation between the two allied nations. “It is not a big deal,” he added. “There were some incidents because there were so many South Koreans going there.”
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Energy confirmed that it had designated South Korea as a “sensitive” country in January but did not offer further explanation for the move.
