Police Arrest 77 in Special Crackdown on Industrial Spies...Victims Mostly Small and Medium Enterprises

Police "Strong Response to Semiconductor, Shipbuilding and Other Core Technology Leakage Crimes"

The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 11th that it conducted a special crackdown on economic security crimes such as industrial technology leakage over the past three months, uncovering a total of 35 cases and arresting 77 individuals.

In response to the consecutive occurrences of industrial technology leakage cases, the police launched a special crackdown from February 1 to May 31, deploying the Security Investigation Unit directly under the National Investigation Headquarters and all members of the Industrial Technology Protection Investigation Teams from 18 metropolitan and provincial police agencies.

Among the cases, 77% (27 cases) involved technology leakage between domestic companies, while 23% (8 cases) involved leakage overseas. By victim company type, small and medium-sized enterprises accounted for 83% (29 cases) of the damage, and large corporations accounted for 17% (6 cases).

By crime type, trade secret leakage cases were the most frequent at 74.3% (26 cases), followed by breach of trust in business at 14.3% (5 cases), and industrial technology leakage at 8.6% (3 cases).

As a representative case, four former executives were arrested for establishing a company themselves to seize the victim company's business, leaking design blueprints leaked from the victim company to overseas firms, and using fraudulently obtained materials in a power plant contract.

Additionally, a former overseas sales employee of the victim company was apprehended by the police for leaking trade secrets such as product unit prices and sales performance to use after moving to an overseas competitor.

A Security Investigation Bureau official stated, "We will strictly punish acts of leaking our technology overseas through the special crackdown scheduled to continue until October," adding, "We will especially respond strongly to crimes involving the leakage of core technologies of domestic companies in sectors such as semiconductors, automobiles, and shipbuilding."

He also urged, "If industrial technology leakage is suspected, please report it to the 'Industrial Technology Leakage Reporting Center' established on the National Police Agency website (www.police.go.kr) or visit the police Industrial Technology Protection Investigation Teams for consultation."