Patent Office "Group Attempting Semiconductor Technology Leakage to China Arrested and Prosecuted"

Annual case receipt and referral status data of the Patent Office Technology Police. Provided by the Patent Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A group attempting to leak advanced semiconductor and display technologies to China has been caught.

On the 16th, the Patent Office's Special Judicial Police for Technology and Design (hereafter Technology Police) and the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office announced that they have indicted seven individuals who attempted to illegally acquire and leak technology related to Overhead Hoist Transfer (OHT), a type of production equipment for semiconductors and displays, from a domestic mid-sized company to China.

The targeted domestic mid-sized company, Company A, is a KOSDAQ-listed firm with sales of 1.55 trillion KRW as of last year, supplying related equipment to major companies in the semiconductor and display sectors. The group is accused of conspiring with the representative of a partner company of Company A to illegally obtain design blueprints and other technical data related to the OHT equipment owned by Company A, then producing prototype equipment based on this information and exporting some of the technology to China.

After receiving a report from the victim company in January last year, the Patent Office's Technology Police began their own investigation while jointly collecting information with the National Intelligence Service's Industrial Secret Protection Center. They first identified two main suspects and conducted a search and seizure of Company B, where the defendants were serving as representatives, in May of the same year.

Based on the evidence of illegal leakage and use of trade secrets related to OHT equipment obtained through the search and seizure, one employee of Company A and the representative of Company B, among others, were sent to the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office with a recommendation for indictment. Subsequently, after additional searches and supplementary investigations, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office arrested and indicted the two main suspects on charges of violating the Industrial Technology Protection Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act (including overseas leakage of trade secrets), while indicting five others, including the representative of Company B, without detention. The victim company estimates that the preventive effect of the technology damage avoided through this case amounts to 115 billion KRW.

Patent Office Technology Police Organization Chart. Provided by the Patent Office

In particular, the Patent Office emphasizes that this case is significant as it is the first instance since March 2019, when the Patent Office began investigations into technology leakage and infringement involving patents and trade secrets, of a case involving overseas leakage of industrial technology and trade secrets being sent for prosecution. It is also the first case led under the guidance of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, a prosecution office specializing in patent crimes, in cooperation with the National Intelligence Service.

Kim Yong-rae, Commissioner of the Patent Office, stated, “Technology leakage is a serious crime that causes the collapse of related industries in our country and threatens national competitiveness. The Patent Office will continue to enhance the investigation system by expanding the organization, personnel, and scope of work of the Technology Police and strengthen cooperation with related agencies to fulfill its role as a guardian of national technological security.”

Meanwhile, from April 2019 to last month, the Patent Office's Technology Police handled a total of 476 cases and took criminal action against 888 individuals, achieving significant results. Accordingly, in July, the Patent Office established a dedicated Technology Police unit and reinforced its personnel to strengthen investigative capabilities against technology leakage. Currently, the dedicated unit includes experts from various fields such as patent examination and trial experience, lawyers, patent attorneys, and pharmacists, laying the foundation for specialized technology investigations.

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