Idaho National Laboratory (INL)'s advanced test reactor / Captured from INL's website

A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory contractor employee was terminated after attempting to board a flight to Korea with export controlled information on nuclear reactor design software, a report showed Monday.

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) terminated the person during the reporting period from Oct. 1, 2023 through March 31 last year, the DOE Office of the Inspector General (OIG)'s report to Congress said, as questions persist over why Korea was placed in the lowest category of the DOE's "Sensitive and Other Designated Countries List (SCL)" in early January.

The information in question is proprietary nuclear reactor design software owned by INL. The OIG conducted a search of the employee's government email and chat history showing the employee's knowledge of export control restrictions and communications with a foreign government, according to the report.

It did not elaborate on the content or nature of the communications between the employee and the foreign government.

The case was being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, the report said.

On Monday (Korea time), Seoul's foreign ministry said that Korea's placement on the SCL was because of security issues related to DOE-affiliated research institutions rather than a broad foreign policy decision.

The U.S. government is said to have told the ministry that Korea's SCL inclusion was imposed due to violations of security regulations during Korean researchers' visits to DOE laboratories or participation in joint research projects.

Seoul views the case in the OIG report as a security regulation breach case, according to a source.

On Friday, the DOE confirmed that it added Korea to the lowest SCL category during the preceding Biden administration in early January.

The designation is set to take effect April 15. The list involves a group of countries subject to stricter scrutiny when access is requested to DOE research institutions or other facilities for technology cooperation or other purposes. It includes North Korea, Russia and China.

Korea's Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun is set to visit Washington this week for talks with Energy Secretary Chris Wright as Seoul seeks to find a way to reverse Korea's placement in the list before it takes effect next month. (Yonhap)