Nikkei: The South Korean government will track chip engineers' itineraries to prevent technology leaks

Source: Nikkei Asia Review

South Korea will create a database of chip engineers to monitor their trips in and out of the country and prevent key technologies from falling into the hands of foreign competitors.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, the above measures are part of a five-year plan to strengthen intellectual property protection, which requires a list of 12 people with advanced knowledge in "national core technologies" such as batteries, organic light-emitting diode displays (OLEDs), ships and steel, and companies and research institutions will register personnel who meet these standards. The South Korean government tracks the itineraries of those on these lists.

In addition, the database will not be limited to Korean nationals, but also foreign engineers employed by Korean companies or local subsidiaries of foreign enterprises.

It is understood that in the past 5 years, there have been 397 technology leaks in South Korea. Technology leaks have become a growing problem for giants such as Samsung Electronics that rely on technological superiority, and the South Korean government aims to curb such incidents.

At the same time, the South Korean government will impose harsher penalties for violations of trade secret laws, including three years or more in prison for those who leak information to foreign companies. In addition, South Korea is also paying close attention to potential technology leaks caused by mergers and acquisitions. Currently, foreign companies that hold more than 50 percent of their stakes in South Korean companies with cutting-edge technology must go through a screening process, and the South Korean government plans to lower that threshold to 30 percent.

(Proofreading/Yuki)