Overseas tech leaks detected by police hit 10-yr high

▲ The National Office of Investigation under the National Police Agency (Yonhap)

overseas tech leaks-crackdown

Overseas tech leaks detected by police hit 10-yr high

SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Yonhap) -- The number of overseas technology leak cases detected by police this year reached the highest level in the past 10 years, the National Office of Investigation (NOI) said Tuesday.

The NOI under the National Police Agency said police intensively cracked down on crimes that threaten economic security for nine months from February to October and transferred 146 cases to the prosecution for indictment.

The transferred cases included 21 overseas technology leaks, marking a rise of 75 percent from last year's 12 cases and the highest annual figure over the past decade, the office said, adding two cases involved national core technologies, including displays.

The proportion of overseas technology leaks among all economic security-related crimes also rose to 14.4 percent this year from 10.1 percent in 2021 and 11.5 percent last year.

The technologies leaked abroad included eight in the display sector, three in semiconductors and machinery, and one in shipbuilding and robots, the office noted.

In one notable case, a foreign national who worked in a domestic robot development team has been apprehended on charges of leaking robot secrets to a foreign country.

The head of a local subcontractor and its four employees have been arrested on charges of attempting to leak LCD process recipes stolen from a local conglomerate to foreign countries.

The NOI said this year's crackdowns on overseas technology leaks included the defense industry for the first time.

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