Government Allows Export of 3 Items Including Autonomous Vehicle Technology Data... 2nd Battery Not Approved

On the 16th, an autonomous vehicle was exhibited at 'NextRise 2022' held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The government has permitted the export of technical data for autonomous vehicle products such as cameras and radars, as well as the latest steel industry operation technology presentation materials. However, in the electrical and electronic sectors, exports were prohibited for advanced technologies that form the foundation of competitiveness in the battery industry.

On the 14th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the "40th Industrial Technology Protection Committee" at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, and announced the approval of three export cases including automobile sector export approvals.

Based on prior review by the expert committee, the committee discussed four submitted technology export and merger & acquisition (M&A) cases. Approvals were granted for the automobile sector (provision of technical data for autonomous vehicle products such as cameras and radars) and steel sector (export of presentation materials from the international forum on carbon neutrality-related latest steel operation technologies). The shipbuilding sector (overseas M&A involving national core technology holders related to liquefied gas pressure vessels) was conditionally approved.

The application for export of core technologies in the electrical and electronic sector (materials, process, and production technologies related to secondary batteries) was denied, considering that the targeted technologies are cutting-edge and form the basis of competitiveness in the battery industry.

The committee stated that the approved applications in the automobile, steel, and shipbuilding sectors were considered to have low risk of technology leakage and minimal impact on domestic industries.

The government also discussed the direction for amending the "Industrial Technology Protection Act," which serves as the legal basis for protecting national core technologies, and future plans at this committee meeting.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy presented three main goals for the amendment of the Industrial Technology Protection Act: expanding the concept of technology export, broadening the scope of foreigners, and expanding the review targets for foreign investment M&A to eliminate blind spots in technology protection; reducing the burden on technology-holding institutions and strengthening management; and enhancing the effectiveness of the system through the refinement of sanction measures. The amendment bill will be finalized after collecting opinions by the end of the year, with the amendment process starting next year.

The ministry also plans to launch a "Technology Security Forum (tentative name)" this month to broadly gather opinions from various stakeholders. Minister Chang-yang Lee of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "A well-organized industrial technology protection system is an essential public good for our industrial innovation and leap forward. We will create an effective system that eliminates regulatory blind spots and reduces excessive burdens."

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