Ruling Party and Government "Punitive Damages for Startup Technology Theft to Increase from 3x to 5x"

Expert Consulting Support and One-Stop Platform Establishment
Announcement of 'Measures to Strengthen Support for Technology Protection of Small and Medium Enterprises' on the 8th

The ruling party and the government are pushing to strengthen the cap on punitive damages related to large corporations' theft of venture and startup technologies from the current three times to five times.

On the afternoon of the 7th, Park Dae-chul, the Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, met with reporters after the 'People Power Party Startup Technology Theft Prevention and Recovery Support Party-Government Consultative Meeting' held at the National Assembly and stated, "The ruling party and the government have agreed to establish a systemic foundation and foster a social atmosphere to strictly punish illegal acts of technology theft."

Chairman Park said, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will comprehensively revise the Small and Medium Enterprise Technology Protection Act to organically link support for victim companies and sanctions against technology theft acts, and plans to strengthen the cap on punitive damages for technology theft under the Mutual Cooperation Act up to five times. Regarding this, the relevant standing committee, the Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Venture Business Committee, plans to conduct in-depth discussions."

Park Dae-chul, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Startup Technology Theft Prevention and Recovery Inter-Party Council held at the National Assembly on the 7th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The ruling party and the government also plan to revise sentencing guidelines for technology theft, provide consulting support for technology infringement prevention, and establish a technology protection gateway. Chairman Park said, "Related agencies such as the prosecution, police, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office will push for revisions to sentencing guidelines so that increased sentences for trade secret infringement can be reflected in actual punishments," adding, "To prevent technology theft, expert consulting including confidentiality agreement signing will be supported for innovative startups."

Chairman Park continued, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the National Police Agency, and other related agencies will significantly strengthen policy support from the pre-stage of technology theft acts, including prevention, investigation, prosecution, dispute mediation, and post-remedy," and explained, "In case of technology theft occurrence, a one-stop technology protection gateway platform will be established to provide integrated guidance on various government support policies so that victim companies can receive customized solutions from damage reporting to problem resolution."

A new 'Technology Protection Vaccine Voucher' will also be introduced to protect the technologies of small and medium enterprises. Chairman Park stated, "Regarding technology protection support projects that are individually operated, such as security system construction, the Technology Protection Vaccine Voucher will be newly established so that SMEs, as demanders, can select customized options according to their business circumstances."

Post-remedies for companies affected by technology theft will also be strengthened. Chairman Park said, "The Korean Intellectual Property Office will strengthen the protection of SMEs' ideas by introducing corrective orders for idea theft and an idea original proof system." He added, "Investigations and inquiries into technology theft will be further strengthened, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office expanding the investigative scope of technology police, and the National Police Agency promoting the upgrade of the Industrial Technology Protection Investigation Team to an investigative unit."

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is scheduled to announce the 'Measures to Strengthen Support for SME Technology Protection' on the 8th, including the specific details discussed at the party-government meeting that day.