"K-Discovery 도입 시 Semiconductor SMEs All Die"... Minister Kwon Chil-seung's Meeting Condemnation

Meeting at Everkemtec, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi on the 24th... 6 Representatives of 'SoBuJang' Attend
Continuous Criticism of Korean-Style Evidence Collection System... "Could Get Caught in Patent Wars"
Concerns Over Semiconductor SW Workforce Shortage... "Need to Expand Training Scale"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] “I believe that no domestic semiconductor equipment company will survive if the Korean-style evidence collection system (K-Discovery) is introduced.”

On the 24th, Junwoo Lee, CEO of semiconductor equipment company Orostechnology, made this statement at the ‘100 Small and Strong Companies in Materials, Parts, and Equipment (SoBuJang)’ on-site meeting with Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups. CEO Lee said, “If the bill passes, foreign semiconductor companies will start aggressively targeting domestic companies,” adding, “Currently, there are not many ‘patent attacks,’ but once the bill is implemented, cases of domestic semiconductor companies getting caught up in lawsuits could continuously increase.”

The meeting was held at Everkemtec in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and was attended by Minister Kwon, Jang Seung-guk, CEO of Bitsrocell, Park Sang-jun, CEO of Exicon, and four other representatives of SoBuJang companies. During the meeting, there were repeated criticisms regarding the Korean-style evidence collection system currently pending in the National Assembly.

The Korean-style evidence collection system is a system where experts designated by the court collect evidence related to patent infringement at company sites and can sanction intentional evidence destruction. The Korean Intellectual Property Office and others are pushing for the legalization of this system to resolve difficulties in securing evidence due to trade secrets in patent infringement lawsuits. According to the proposed bill, parties involved in patent lawsuits can request related materials from each other and ask the court for on-site investigations.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Businesspeople unanimously expressed concerns that they could be caught up in patent wars to the extent that business operations become impossible. Most domestic semiconductor SMEs are latecomers in the industry, raising concerns that ‘patent attacks’ from global companies that have secured related technologies could surge. Jang Seung-guk, CEO of Bitsrocell, explained, “If the Korean-style evidence collection system is legalized, there will be too many cases for foreign companies to file lawsuits,” adding, “Domestic SMEs do not have the capital or resources to respond to lawsuits from global companies one by one.” He added, “Among the companies selected for the ‘100 Small and Strong Companies in SoBuJang’ project, only one or two are expected to benefit from the system.”

Minister Kwon showed interest in these complaints, saying, “Is it the same from the perspective of SMEs?” He said, “At a recent Blue House meeting, a Samsung Electronics official said the system (Korean-style evidence collection system) must never be introduced,” and asked, “There may be cases where the interests of large corporations and SMEs differ depending on the system, and positions may vary by industry, right?” In response, CEO Jang said, “Most SMEs might be in a similar situation,” adding, “While it is important to mediate disputes between domestic large corporations and SMEs over technology theft, what is more important is the competition between foreign companies and domestic companies.” This implies that although part of the system’s purpose is to protect innovative technologies of SMEs, in practice, domestic companies may suffer from lawsuits filed by foreign companies once the system is introduced.

Concerns about the semiconductor workforce shortage also continued. Park Sang-jun, CEO of Exicon, said, “Both semiconductor hardware (HW) and software (SW) personnel are equally needed, but there is a severe shortage of SW personnel,” lamenting, “SMEs do not have the capacity to attract high-level personnel, and if companies train them, large corporations take them away.” Park added, “Since SW personnel are fundamentally in absolute shortage, the scale of training must be increased,” and “A SW workforce plan should be established that includes specialized retraining for graduates and linking them to employment in SMEs.”

Minister Kwon responded, “There are measures to retrain university graduates and to increase the quota for related departments,” adding, “From industry feedback, there is a strong opinion that university quotas should be increased, but increasing quotas is not an easy task.” He continued, “(However) when the Ministry of Education reallocates department quotas, a significant portion will be assigned to SW personnel, and the number of master’s programs will be increased,” and stated, “We take the SW workforce shortage seriously and want to assure that we are fully committed to solving this problem.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to reflect the key issues discussed at this meeting in policies through consultations with related ministries and to expand communication such as on-site visits to small and strong SoBuJang companies.

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