Police Arrest 96 Individuals in 3-Month Special Crackdown on Industrial Technology Leakage Offenders

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The police announced on the 6th that they have arrested 96 individuals as a result of a special crackdown on 'industrial technology leakage offenders' conducted over the past three months.

The National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency released interim results of the special crackdown on industrial technology leakage offenders, including this information. According to the mid-term review of the special crackdown launched by the police in February, trade secret leakage cases were the most frequent with 16 cases (69.5%). This was followed by industrial technology leakage (4 cases, 17.4%) and breach of trust in business affairs (3 cases, 13%). Among these, the police explained that three cases involved leakage of national core technologies.

Specifically, damages to small and medium-sized enterprises (18 cases, 78%) were found to be higher than those to large corporations (5 cases, 22%). Internal leakage by employees and executives (21 cases, 91%) was more common than leakage by outsiders. Additionally, leakage between domestic companies (19 cases, 83%) was higher than leakage of technology abroad (4 cases, 17%).

Major cases include identifying 79 suspects related to acquiring core technologies held by victim companies through methods such as requiring technology presentations during the hiring process for experienced positions, with 35 of them being sent to the prosecution by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The Chungbuk Police Agency arrested a suspect who leaked core company technology materials by unauthorized copying to create image files and sending them via personal email, intending to move to a competing company.

Earlier, the National Investigation Headquarters deployed all personnel from the Security Investigation Unit under the Security Investigation Bureau and the Industrial Technology Protection Investigation Teams from 17 metropolitan and provincial police agencies for this special crackdown. To strengthen investigative capabilities, dedicated personnel for industrial technology leakage investigations were increased, and some metropolitan and provincial police agencies’ Industrial Technology Protection Investigation Teams were upgraded to investigation unit level. The National Investigation Headquarters stated, "Through the ongoing special crackdown until the end of October, we will strictly crack down on industrial technology leakage offenders to protect core technologies of domestic companies in semiconductors, secondary batteries, shipbuilding, and other sectors, thereby contributing to enhancing national competitiveness."