Police Establish Dedicated Investigation Unit for 'Industrial Spies' and Expand Personnel...

The police have established a dedicated investigation unit and expanded personnel to respond to industrial technology leakage.

According to the police on the 4th, the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (Guksubon) decided to create the "Counterintelligence Economic Security Investigation Division" under the Security Investigation Bureau. Additionally, the Technology Leakage Investigation Division, which had been operating as a temporary unit, was converted into a permanent organization.

The Counterintelligence Economic Security Investigation Division was formed by integrating the Economic Security Investigation Task Force (TF) previously operated by the Security Investigation Bureau and the Foreign Affairs Security Division that belonged to the Foreign Affairs Bureau. Going forward, it will comprehensively handle everything from identifying, monitoring, and blocking to investigating industrial technology leakage crimes such as industrial espionage.

Personnel were also increased. The police added 32 industrial technology leakage investigators across nine metropolitan and provincial police agencies, including five in Seoul.

This organizational restructuring and personnel increase by the police are interpreted as efforts to strengthen investigative capabilities related to the rapidly increasing industrial technology leakage crimes. This year, the proportion of overseas technology leakage cases among all economic security crime incidents is 14.4%, continuing to rise from 10.1% in 2021 and 11.5% in 2022.

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