Police Record 'Highest Ever Arrests' for Overseas Technology Leaks... 20 Cases Detected in China Alone

Record Number of Overseas Technology Leakage Cases Arrested Last Year
Semiconductors and Displays Among the Most Targeted Technologies

The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 13th that it made the highest number of arrests ever last year in cases of overseas technology leakage.

National Police Agency, National Investigation Headquarters. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

According to the National Police Agency, the number of arrests for overseas technology leakage last year was 27, with 11 cases involving the leakage of national core technologies overseas. This is the highest figure since the establishment of the National Investigation Headquarters.

For the first time last year, overseas leakage cases accounted for more than 20% of all technology leakage incidents. The police achieved a result in which approximately 6.5 billion KRW worth of salaries and living expenses received by suspects who leaked national core technologies were preemptively seized before prosecution in eight cases.

The breakdown of overseas technology leakage cases by country was 20 cases involving China, 3 cases the United States, 1 case Japan, 1 case Vietnam, 1 case Germany, and 1 case Iran. By technology type, there were 9 cases related to semiconductors, 8 to displays, 3 to electrical and electronics, 2 to information and communications, 1 to automobiles and railroads, 1 to shipbuilding, 1 to biotechnology, 1 to machinery, and 1 to others.

With concerns that the overseas leakage of core technologies will continue to increase, the National Police Agency plans to designate and promote the following key tasks: strengthening crackdowns on overseas technology leakage, securing infrastructure and improving systems, enhancing cooperation with related agencies, and activating damage reporting.

A National Police Agency official stated, “To eradicate the increasingly advanced and organized crimes of overseas technology leakage, we will increase the number of dedicated investigators and provide specialized training. Above all, we will strengthen a government-wide response system by joining forces with related agencies such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.”