Fair Trade Commission imposes 1.1 billion KRW fine on 'PHA' for stealing partner companies' technical data

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] A first-tier supplier of a finished car manufacturer was sanctioned by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for stealing blueprints from a subcontractor and using them in the manufacturing and supply of parts. The FTC ordered, for the first time, the return or destruction of the stolen technical data.

On the 28th, the FTC announced that it issued corrective orders to PH A, which misappropriated the technical data of its partner company, including orders to return and destroy the technical data, and imposed a fine of 1.088 billion KRW. Additionally, the case was referred to the prosecution.

According to the FTC, PH A, a first-tier supplier to the finished car manufacturer, proposed acquiring assets including technical blueprints from a second-tier supplier, Company A, which was undergoing rehabilitation procedures in June 2019. However, when the acquisition cost exceeded expectations, PH A stole Company A’s blueprints and did not proceed with the acquisition.

Furthermore, PH A erased company logos and other marks from 41 of Company A’s blueprints, registered them as its own, and provided them to Company B.

The FTC revealed that PH A drafted internal documents outlining a response scenario, anticipating high acquisition costs during negotiations, and decided to develop parts through a third-tier supplier to reduce acquisition costs and risks.

PH A was found to have requested 22 blueprints from Company A without justifiable reasons and failed to provide written technical data documents specifying the purpose of the request and confidentiality obligations, as required by law, to Company A and four other companies. During the investigation, PH A claimed to have paid compensation for the technical data to Company A, but the FTC dismissed this claim due to lack of evidence such as court approval.

The FTC judged that PH A’s demands for technical data were not necessary for achieving the entrusted purpose and exceeded the minimum required scope, thus constituting unjustified demands.

This case marks the first time the FTC has imposed corrective orders requiring the return or destruction of technical data stored as one’s own blueprints without obtaining consent from the supplier within 30 days. This reflects criticism that previous orders for recurrence prevention alone were insufficient to rectify violations.

An FTC official stated, "We plan to actively promote measures such as expanding ex officio investigations, increasing fixed fines, and regularizing the temporary Technical Misappropriation Monitoring Team to ensure the smooth implementation of the national agenda to eradicate technology theft from small and medium-sized enterprises."

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