Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea chaired the 58th Industrial Technology Protection Committee (“Committee”) meeting today in Seoul for deliberation and resolution on six agenda items, including the fifth Comprehensive Plan on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology and the proposed export permit on national high-tech strategic technologies and national core technologies, as well as measures for usage of cloud service for national core technologies.

First, the Committee established and passed the fifth Comprehensive Plan on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology in view of the growing importance of technology protection amid the intensifying global race for technological hegemony and development of advanced technologies.

With aim to enhance management of technologies for protection and technology-holding institutions, the Committee decided that technologies with a high need for protection are to be newly designated as national core technologies. These include promising technologies highly connected with national security and the national economy such as those for designing and manufacturing multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) and synthetic aperture radars (SAR). Meanwhile, national core technologies will be included in the scope of industrial technologies for protection under the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening the Competitiveness of Materials, Components, and Equipment Industries.

Institutions holding national core technologies will also be closely managed. Companies projected to hold national core technologies will be swiftly distinguished through the technology holder confirmation and registration system, while the transfer of national core technologies will be systematically monitored.

Second, areas under the current evaluation system deemed inadequate will be modified to proactively respond to the ever diversifying and evolving means of technology leakage. An expert committee for industrial technology protection will oversee the evaluation on M&A areas and modified rules will allow the Korean trade, industry and energy minister to issue ex officio orders for suspension, prohibition, and restitution with regard to unauthorized or undeclared exports.

As Korean companies’ exports of national core technologies are on the rise, modifications on the export deliberation system will be made to a limited extent to avoid aggravating burden on exporters. For the export of core technologies with low risk of technology leakage, the process will either be partially streamlined or exporters will be granted exemption from deliberation procedures. Moreover, to shorten the period of export deliberation, the technical evaluation period will be capped to 45 days with allowance for a one-time extension of another 45 days.

Third, the existing laws for punishment on technology leakage will be strengthened while legal grounds will be laid down for punishment on acts of introducing, brokering, and attracting technology leakage in order to eliminate all blind spots.

Fourth, efforts will be made to bolster the security level of relatively more vulnerable universities and SMEs through catered support like the development of security infrastructure and security consulting services. In addition, relevant ministries will join hands to establish a more substantial protection system for better national R&D management and stronger protection of startups.

As most technology leakages manifest through human resources, effort will go toward enhancing the management and support of key talents. Key talents in charge of national core technologies will be distinguished using big data analysis and information will be swiftly shared with relevant institutions in the case of technology leakage emergency.

The Committee also discussed measures on the usage of cloud service for national core technologies to resolve industry issues occurring as a result of inadequate rules on protection of cloud service users.

The plan is to allow national core technology-holding institutions the use of cloud service while still minimizing risks of technology leakage by establishing standards for cloud user protection under Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry (MOTIE)’s Industrial Technology Protection Guideline, and to develop and distribute a guideline on specific and technical protection measures early next year.

The Committee also deliberated a total of five proposed export permit items, composed of national core technologies and high-tech strategic technologies in semiconductor, secondary battery, automobile, and railway areas based on expert subcommittee reviews.

Trade Minister Cheong stated that MOTIE will cooperate with related ministries based on the mid-to-long term technology protection policy directions established today so as to further advance Korea’s technology protection capacity.