"Criminal Penalties Should Be Established for Large Corporations' Idea and Technology Theft"

The Gyeongcheong Foundation held a "Press Conference for Companies Damaged by Large Corporations' Idea Theft" on the 18th at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, Seoul.

There have been calls for legal and institutional improvements, including the establishment of criminal penalties, to prevent large corporations from stealing ideas and technologies from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

On the 18th, the Listening Foundation held a "Press Conference for SMEs Victimized by Large Corporations' Idea Theft" at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul. Jang Taegwan, Chairman of Listening, stated, "SMEs rely solely on their ideas and technologies when starting their businesses, but if large corporations secure technical data under the pretext of collaboration and engage in the same business, SMEs will not survive in this uneven playing field," urging, "The National Assembly and government must actively work on institutional improvements to restore the rights of SMEs."

Attorney Park Heekyung of Listening proposed the introduction of provisions allowing criminal punishment for acts of idea and outcome infringement under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act (UCPA). Attorney Park said, "While illegally using someone else's car can result in imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 5 million won, there are no criminal penalty provisions for stealing ideas, so no significant measures can be taken," adding, "Both acts fundamentally involve unauthorized use of another's assets to infringe on profits."

Attorney Park also argued that the scope of administrative investigations that can be imposed on offending companies should be expanded. Currently, infringement of outcomes is not subject to administrative investigation under the UCPA. While idea infringement and unauthorized data use are subject to administrative investigation, only corrective recommendations without enforceability or disposability are made. Attorney Park explained, "When a company's outcomes are infringed upon, civil litigation is the only remedy," noting, "Litigation requires significant time, effort, and costs, and gathering evidence is also very challenging." He pointed out that the law should be amended so that outcome infringement is also subject to administrative investigation, and in cases where illegality such as idea infringement and unauthorized data use is recognized, the system should be improved to allow corrective orders beyond mere recommendations.

Attorney Park also emphasized the need for an inter-ministerial consultative body to resolve disputes related to idea, outcome, or technology infringement. He said, "When cases of SME idea or technology infringement occur, there are issues such as overlapping reporting agencies including the Fair Trade Commission, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office," and added, "There is a need to establish a permanent inter-ministerial consultative body to jointly address these problems."

He further mentioned the necessity of establishing a separate institution to objectively evaluate the value of ideas and related assets. He stated, "A specialized institution for objective value evaluation of ideas, outcomes, and data should be established," and argued, "This would help prevent unfair trade practices between companies where the value of technology is not properly reflected."

At the event, five SME representatives who recently claimed to have had their ideas and technologies stolen by large corporations attended. Jung Ji-won, CEO of Algocare, is currently engaged in a technology dispute, alleging that Lotte Healthcare stole Algocare's idea (a nutritional supplement dispenser). CEO Jung said, "Idea theft and technology misappropriation are difficult to resolve legally due to the time costs and limitations of the burden of proof," and criticized, "If large corporations do not respect intellectual property rights, it undermines SMEs' motivation for technology development and shirks social responsibility."

Startup Prinker Korea is in dispute with LG Household & Health Care. They claim that LG Household & Health Care's recently launched tattoo printer ‘Imprintu’ copied their product. CEO Yoon Taesik of Prinker Korea said, "LG Household & Health Care claims to value ethical norms such as fair competition, fair trade, and basic ethics of employees as their highest principles, but they secured technical information and products under the pretext of collaboration," and lamented, "It is deplorable that despite repeated idea theft, there are no legal precedents."

Bang Seongbo, CEO of Kiuso, who is in dispute with NongHyup Economic Holdings, appealed, "The Unfair Competition Prevention Act and the Fair Trade Act should be improved to protect ideas and outcomes," and added, "I hope a clear legal guide establishing NongHyup Economic Holdings as a public institution under the Information Disclosure Act will be created, laying the foundation for various startups to utilize agricultural and livestock public data."

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