Heo Insun, CEO of Hanjin Engineering, "Even Public Enterprises Steal Technology from SMEs"

Heo In-soon, CEO of Hanjin Engineering.

"Excellent technologies of small and medium-sized enterprises are becoming prey for profit-sharing by certain groups."

Heo In-soon, CEO of Hanjin Engineering, said this on the 7th at a press conference held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, urging, "President Yoon Seok-yeol should actively resolve the issue of technology theft from SMEs."

Hanjin Engineering is a plant engineering SME with 23 years of experience this year. Starting with a patent for dust control at storage yards in 2014, it developed and commercialized equipment to reduce dust in indoor low coal storage at coal-fired power plants in 2018. This technology is a system that prevents spontaneous combustion of high-volatile bituminous coal stored in power plant silos and suppresses dust dispersion. It has been supplied to Samcheok Green Power, Taean Thermal Power Plant, and Shinboryeong Thermal Power Plant.

The incident began in 2018 when Namdong Power requested related technical data, stating they intended to apply Hanjin Engineering’s technology at the Goseong High Thermal Power Plant site. At that time, CEO Heo provided technical data to the construction company involved in the project, Namdong Power, and the design company Korea Electric Power Technology. He claims that Namdong Power and Korea Electric Power Technology, having received the data, provided the technology to Company A, which then cleverly copied the technology and filed a patent. He also stated that Company A gained an advantage in government projects, including winning a private contract with Gangneung Anin Thermal Power Plant.

CEO Heo learned of these facts around May last year from the prosecution. The Industrial Technology Crime Team of the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office summoned him as a victim during their investigation, which included a raid on Namdong Power in March last year.

After the investigation, the prosecution indicted some of the parties involved. Persons related to Hallasan Industrial Development, the client ordering the construction of the indoor low coal storage dust reduction equipment at Goseong High Thermal Power Plant, and Ritec FES, the construction company, are currently on trial for violations including unfair competition prevention and trade secret protection laws, bribery, embezzlement, and breach of trust. Some have been sentenced to three years in prison and are serving their sentences. However, Namdong Power reportedly denies allegations of technology leakage, stating that the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) company responsible for power plant construction led most tasks such as equipment supply, construction, and subcontractor selection.

Hanjin Engineering’s annual sales once ranged from 4 to 5 billion KRW but shrank to 800 million KRW after suffering technology leakage damage. CEO Heo said, "Witnessing a public enterprise, not even a private company, steal technology from an SME made me consider leaving Korea," adding, "Although the world is becoming more transparent, in public enterprises like power plants, which the public is not well aware of, their own league still exists."