The National Office of Investigation under the National Police Agency announced on January 19 that it had apprehended 378 individuals (including 6 who were detained) last year for crimes related to technology leakage.
By type of offense, violations of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act accounted for the largest share with 118 cases (65.9%), followed by the Criminal Act (breach of trust in the course of work, etc.) with 39 cases (21.8%), and the Industrial Technology Protection Act with 22 cases (12.3%). In terms of leaked technologies, there were 15 cases involving machinery, 11 involving displays, 8 involving semiconductors, 8 involving information and communications, 8 involving secondary batteries, 6 involving biotechnology, and 5 involving automobiles and railways.
For overseas technology leakage, semiconductors accounted for 5 cases, displays for 4 cases, secondary batteries for 3 cases, and shipbuilding for 2 cases. The main destination countries were China (54.5%), Vietnam (12.1%), Indonesia (39.1%), and the United States (39.1%). While the proportion of leaks to China has slightly decreased, leaks to other countries have increased.
The main perpetrators were insiders such as employees and executives of the victim companies, accounting for 82.7%. There were overwhelmingly more cases involving small and medium-sized enterprises (155 cases, 86.6%) than large corporations (24 cases, 13.4%).
The police identified and seized criminal proceeds totaling approximately 2.34 billion won before indictment, including brokerage fees obtained by suspects who facilitated the overseas transfer of key domestic semiconductor manufacturing personnel.
An official from the National Police Agency stated, "Technology leakage is a serious crime that inflicts irreparable damage not only on individual companies but also on national economic security," adding, "We will continue to enforce a zero-tolerance policy and carry out strict crackdowns going forward."
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