Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Monday ordered a full-scale diplomatic effort to remove South Korea from the U.S. “sensitive country” list before the designation officially takes effect on April 15.
Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun will travel to the United States this week to meet with high-ranking officials, including the U.S. Secretary of Energy, to negotiate South Korea’s removal from the list. The list is managed by the U.S.’ Department of Energy (DOE).
During a foreign economic affairs meeting at the government complex in Seoul, Choi, who also serves as the deputy prime minister and finance minister, instructed relevant ministries to “closely monitor developments” in Washington and “actively advocate for South Korea’s position.”
“The relevant institutions must proactively communicate with the United States through multiple channels and ensure that bilateral cooperation in science, technology and energy is not negatively affected,” Choi said, including the Trade Minister’s visit to the United States.
A spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed Saturday that South Korea was classified under the “Other Designated Country” category, the lowest tier within the sensitive country list, in early January in response to media inquiries.
The sensitive country list categorizes nations that require special consideration for reasons such as “U.S. national security concerns,” “nuclear nonproliferation” or “support for terrorism,” according to the department website, with countries like North Korea, Iran, Syria, China and Russia included on the list.
While the Energy Department has not explained the rationale behind the designation, the Democratic Party (DP) attributed South Korea’s inclusion on the list to nuclear armament discussions raised by President Yoon Suk Yeol and key conservative People Power Party politicians, aligning with the U.S. department’s practice of classifying countries based on national security and nuclear nonproliferation concerns.
DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung called the situation “a complete diplomatic disaster and a failure of national security policy.”
“The reckless rhetoric about developing nuclear weapons within a year and unrealistic nuclear armament proposals have resulted in South Korea being designated as a sensitive country,” Lee said during a party leadership meeting on Monday.
He warned that pursuing nuclear weapons would force South Korea to terminate its nuclear cooperation agreements with the United States and withdraw from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), placing South Korea in the same situation as the North.
Lee also accused the Yoon administration of damaging South Korea’s credibility with its allies by declaring martial law without prior consultation with the United States, suggesting that this may have contributed to the country’s new designation.
While the opposition blames the conservative lawmakers’ nuclear rhetoric, People Power Party (PPP) interim leader Kwon Young-se pointed at DP leader Lee Jae-myung for South Korea’s designation as a sensitive country.
“The biggest reason for this crisis is that President Yoon was impeached, followed by the impeachment of his acting president,” Kwon said in the party’s emergency leadership committee meeting at the National Assembly on Monday. “This left Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party — a party with a pro-China, anti-U.S. stance — in control of national affairs.”
Kwon also accused Lee of undermining South Korea’s credibility with Washington.
“North Korea is designated as a dangerous state because it poses a direct security threat to the United States,” Kwon said. “Meanwhile, Lee Jae-myung has been found guilty in court of illegally sending money to North Korea — violating UN sanctions against Pyongyang.”
He further criticized Lee for expressing anti-American sentiment, opposing South Korea-U.S.-Japan military cooperation and participating in anti-government protests alongside the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which conservatives have accused of receiving marching orders from North Korea.
“When a figure like this is considered a leading presidential candidate, it’s no surprise that South Korea ended up on the sensitive country list,” Kwon said.
Despite trading blame over the reasons behind the country’s inclusion on the sensitive country list, rival parties agreed to push for a National Assembly resolution urging the United States to revoke the designation.
PPP Floor Leader Kweon Seong-dong told reporters at the National Assembly Monday that the party “had no objections” to the DP’s proposed resolution against South Korea’s designation.
“Since this is a matter of diplomacy, it is important to respond in a bipartisan manner and work together,” Kweon said.
Earlier in the day, DP spokesperson Han Min-soo said that the party would “mobilize all efforts” to have the designation rescinded.
BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]
