It has been reported that the Korean national whom the U.S. government additionally designated as a target of sanctions on the 12th (local time) for ‘violating anti-Russian sanctions’ related to the war in Ukraine is someone for whom Korean authorities have also been conducting a related investigation.
An official from our Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 13th, “I understand that our relevant authorities are already aware of the suspicion of ‘illegal bypass exports to Russia’ and are conducting a related investigation regarding the personnel designated as targets of US sanctions this time.”
Prior to this, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added about 280 individuals and institutions to the list of ‘Specially Designated Sanctions’ (SDN) on suspicion of involvement in arms procurement in connection with Russia’s war in Ukraine, including Korea. It was confirmed that nationality Mr. Lee (61) was also included. This is the first time that Koreans have been included in OFAC’s sanctions list.
The U.S. Treasury Department explained the reason by saying that Mr. Lee had been acting as a “key procurement agent” for the Russian company “AK Microtech,” which was designated as a target of sanctions by the U.S. government in July of this year.
According to the U.S. Treasury, AK Microtech is a company that specializes in transferring foreign semiconductor technology to electronic device manufacturers, including Russian defense companies.
The U.S. government believes that Lee used a shell company to help AK Microtech obtain technology and equipment related to semiconductor production from manufacturers in Korea, Japan, and the United States.
If you are on OFAC’s sanctions list like Lee, you will be prohibited from doing business with Americans or American companies, you will not be able to visit the United States, and any assets in the United States owned by the person subject to sanctions will be frozen.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Our government has been playing its role as a responsible member of the international community by introducing export controls and financial sanctions against Russia immediately after the outbreak of the war in order to peacefully resolve the war in Ukraine and faithfully implementing them,” adding, “We will continue to prevent circumvented exports in the future.” “We will strengthen our efforts to effectively implement existing sanctions against Russia, and continue to cooperate closely between Korea and the United States,” he said.
The war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion in February last year, has now continued for nearly two years. Since then, our government has also joined the economic and financial sanctions against Russia led by Western countries, including the United States.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.