SME Loses to Hanwha in 10 Billion Won Technology Theft Compensation Lawsuit

Dispute Over Solar Cell Screen Printer Technology: 'Core Technology Misappropriation VS Independent Technology Development'
SJ Innotech to Appeal

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The public interest foundation Gyeongcheong, dedicated to restoring the rights of small and medium-sized enterprises, announced on the 21st that solar power equipment manufacturer SJ Innotech lost a 10.1 billion KRW damages lawsuit filed against Hanwha and Hanwha Q CELLS Korea.

SJ Innotech plans to immediately file an appeal together with Gyeongcheong, dissatisfied with the first trial verdict.

The Civil Division 62 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Yeom Hojun) ruled on the 28th of last month that SJ Innotech, a partner company of Hanwha, lost the damages claim lawsuit against Hanwha and Hanwha Q CELLS Korea.

Previously, SJ Innotech had signed subcontracting contracts with Hanwha from 2011 to 2015 regarding the manufacturing of solar power equipment. During this process, SJ Innotech claimed that Hanwha misappropriated solar cell manufacturing line equipment technology to produce solar products and supplied them to Hanwha affiliates.

In October of last year, the Korea Fair Trade Commission imposed corrective orders and a fine of 382 million KRW on Hanwha for misappropriating SJ Innotech’s technical data, but the court’s judgment differed.

The criminal complaints filed with the prosecution against related parties were also dismissed due to insufficient evidence. This decision was made relying solely on the opinion of a single patent investigation advisor, despite the Fair Trade Commission’s corrective orders and fines.

In the appeal trial, in addition to the existing law firm, Gyeongcheong’s legal support and multiple external law firms will participate to secure evidence proving the large corporation’s technology theft in specialized technical fields.

A Gyeongcheong official stated, “This ruling is an important decision not only regarding the legal dispute over technology theft between large corporations and their small and medium-sized partners but also concerning the cancellation of administrative measures such as the Fair Trade Commission’s corrective orders. Nevertheless, we plan to actively highlight in the appeal trial the issue that objective verification procedures for technology infringement were not properly conducted.”

Jung Hyungchan, CEO of SJ Innotech, pointed out, “The prosecution’s non-indictment decision mostly disregarded the evidence painstakingly gathered by the small and medium enterprise to prove the large corporation’s technology theft, accepting only the unilateral claims of the large corporation and the opinion of the patent investigation advisor. The first civil trial ruling was made without any understanding of the uniqueness of solar cell printing technology, siding with Hanwha’s claim that they developed independent technology by hiring only a few experienced engineers, without recognizing the experience and know-how of solar print equipment technology.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.