Technicians Disappear from Company Where Competitor Chairman's Son Served Under Military Service Exemption

SNT Motive, "Core Talent and Technology for Future Cars Were Poached by Competitors"

Korens EM, "Hired Through Open Recruitment Only, Denies Allegations and Will Take Legal Action"

SNT Motive Busan Headquarters.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Ten years ago, Mr. A, the son of the chairman of an automobile parts manufacturing company, was employed under a military service special case at a competing company in the same industry and worked there for three years before leaving.

However, two years later, for some reason, the key technicians of that company gradually moved to the company where Mr. A's father serves as chairman.

A dispute of 'industrial espionage' and 'hunter' accusations is heating up between the company that employed Mr. A under the military service special case and the competing company.

SNT Motive, the largest automobile parts company in the Busan area, is threatening legal action against Corens and Corens EM, which are leading the Busan-type job project.

SNT Motive has raised suspicions that Corens systematically poached key technologies and personnel, while Corens denies these claims.

According to SNT Motive on the 21st, the company recently confirmed that Mr. A, the son of Corens' chairman, worked in the Motor Development Team at the Technology Research Institute under the military service special case and then resigned.

They suspect organized involvement in the leakage of personnel and technology.

In February 2012, Mr. A worked in the Motor Development Team, which he desired, and resigned in March 2015.

After that, from 2017, key personnel of this company began moving to Corens, a diesel automobile parts manufacturer with a factory in Yangsan, Gyeongnam.

Most of the personnel who have moved so far are known to be researchers or engineers related to motor development and automobile parts.

Starting with three people in 2017, five in 2018, and twelve after 2020, the total has reached 20. After joining Corens, when the Busan-type job project was fully launched last year, they moved to Corens EM, a subsidiary established in the Mieum Industrial Complex in Busan.

Corens EM is a company that has secured core technology related to electric vehicle drive units and exports to global automobile manufacturers, with Mr. A serving as the CEO.

SNT Motive claims that some of these individuals secretly took out critical trade secret materials related to motors during their job transitions using external hard drives, USBs, or other portable storage devices and emails without company approval.

Evidence of file leakage remains in the company's internal network through digital rights management (DRM), data loss prevention (DLP), and other technology leakage prevention systems.

SNT Motive claims, "Initially, only motor development personnel were enticed to move, but recently, engineers from departments such as production technology, quality, and equipment at SNT Motive are also being enticed."

An SNT Motive official said, "Corens, which had no eco-friendly vehicle motor technology, enticed SNT Motive employees in 2017 with salary increases and promotions, and later enticed them by highlighting Corens' bright prospects in the electric vehicle business."

He added, "Recently, they have been enticing young engineers by presenting a blueprint for business growth, stating that the company plans to be listed on the stock market in a few years and that they can profit through stock options."

SNT Motive is reviewing legal measures, viewing Corens as having systematically poached technology and personnel, and is preparing countermeasures including legal action.

Corens and Corens EM have stated that SNT Motive's claims of technology leakage are "untrue and unfair."

Corens EM acknowledges that the CEO worked under the military service special case and that some employees moved from SNT Motive, but denies the allegations of poaching personnel and technology as groundless speculation.

Corens stated, "It is mere speculation presented as fact to claim that personnel who joined our company through open recruitment from the second half of 2017, two and a half years after the CEO completed his military service special case and resigned, were poached."

They also claim the technology leakage allegations are false. According to a Corens EM official, the products currently being mass-produced contain technology that SNT Motive does not possess, and the company is judging technology leakage based on password decryption that occurred during routine work.

Corens EM is also reviewing legal actions against SNT Motive and plans to release an official statement soon.

SNT Motive began its motor business for automobiles in the late 1980s and, based on its own technology, has been supplying core electric vehicle drive motor parts to Hyundai Kia Motor Group since 2012. It has also been supplying drive units developed for the North American GM electric vehicle Bolt since 2016, with a volume of 170,000 units to date.

Corens EM has secured core technology related to electric vehicle drive units and is promoting technology sharing and localization through joint research and development (R&D) with partner companies in both primary and subcontracting roles.

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