"Technically a Job Change, but They Stole All the Technology and Talent" vs "We're Proud, Can't Hire Technicians Through Open Recruitment?"

Automotive Parts Competitors SNT Motive and Corens EM Anticipate Legal Dispute

SNT Motive Busan Headquarters.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] As disputes between competing companies over industrial technology leakage (reported in our internet edition on February 21) intensify day by day, the issues of 'job change' and 'technology leakage' are expected to be settled in court.

Automotive parts manufacturer SNT Motive is reportedly preparing legal reviews and has decided to take legal action against its competitor, Corens EM.

The lawsuit appears to focus on two main issues: whether the rival company enticed away its key technical personnel, and whether these employees secretly leaked company secrets upon changing jobs.

The dispute originated when the son of Corens' chairman, who was serving under a military service exemption, worked at SNT Motive but resigned after three years. About two years later, a number of SNT Motive's core engineers moved to Corens, which has since grown solidly, sparking the controversy.

SNT Motive claims that talent was stolen and is confident that company secrets were also taken.

Corens argues that “the personnel were recruited through open hiring, and since the individuals chose to change jobs voluntarily, there is no problem.”

In response, SNT Motive released a rebuttal statement on the 22nd, announcing a firm stance on countermeasures.

SNT Motive stated, “It has been confirmed that those who moved to Corens directly contacted SNT Motive employees to entice them to change jobs.”

An SNT Motive official claimed, “Starting with the motor development team leader in 2017, from 2017 to 2018 motor development researchers, and from 2020 the motor production technology team, partner company quality control team, motor quality assurance team, e-oil pump team, factory automation team, and other essential personnel and technologies for product development were systematically and sequentially taken away.”

He added that even now, those who moved to Corens are actively contacting current employees to entice them, implying that the open recruitment process claimed by Corens is merely formal.

The two sides are also sharply divided on technology-related issues.

Corens claims, “Our technology was secured through a partnership with a German company, and this technology has not been secured by domestic companies including SNT Motive.”

SNT Motive countered, “The technology Corens EM claims to have secured through a partnership with a German company is believed to be hairpin (rectangular wire) and WRSM (wound rotor synchronous motor). The hairpin technology was developed and completed between 2009 and 2010 for the GM Volt electric vehicle, with over 200 sets delivered and performance verified. Additionally, the WRSM technology was already developed by SNT Motive in early 2013.”

SNT Motive stated that many team leaders and employees involved in the development at that time have since moved to Corens EM and are currently working there.

Corens also expressed a different position regarding document leakage.

They argued, “In cases such as business trips or submitting estimates to clients, passwords must be unlocked before sending, and once unlocked, approval must be obtained through a payment process, so records of who approved and where the documents were sent should remain on the server.”

An SNT Motive official said, “It has been confirmed that Corens job changers arbitrarily unlocked passwords on confidential company materials such as design quality improvement plans, sales plans, development plans, and manufacturing costs just before resigning.”

He added, “Passwords should never be unlocked during routine work processes, nor should such materials be provided externally. The fact that a large volume of such materials was unlocked and saved onto personal external hard drives just before resignation cannot be explained in any way.”

“Among those who moved to Corens, there was a team leader who had the authority to unlock passwords,” he said, “and it has been confirmed that this authority was abused to arbitrarily unlock hundreds of documents in large quantities.”

They also cited as evidence that the timing of password unlocking was just before resignation and that the unlocking occurred during lunch breaks and after work hours when no other employees were present.

So why did this issue surface only five years after the engineers began changing jobs?

Corens argues, “If there had been widespread technology leakage in 2017, the matter should have been promptly reported to investigative authorities. Requesting an investigation only after five years is inconsistent.”

In response, SNT Motive said, “At that time in 2017, Corens only supplied parts for diesel vehicles, not electric vehicle motors, so they were not considered a competitor. Also, to avoid harming former employees who had worked at SNT Motive for a long time, we refrained from reporting to investigative authorities.”

An SNT Motive official stated, “In 2019, Corens established Corens EM, a subsidiary specializing in automotive motors, becoming a serious competitor to SNT Motive. They have been systematically and continuously poaching not only SNT Motive’s development personnel but also production technology and quality staff, so we can no longer tolerate this.”

The sharp differences between the two sides, who are preparing for a legal battle, are drawing attention as to what conclusion will be reached.

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