Minister of SMEs and Startups Oh Young-joo is speaking at the Ministerial Conference on Economic Relations

held at the Government Complex Seoul on the morning of the 16th. (Yonhap)

According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,

To bolster protections for innovative startups, the South Korean government is set to increase penalties for large corporations that steal technology from smaller firms. The government intends to move beyond merely issuing corrective recommendations to implementing binding corrective orders along with pursuing legal changes that would introduce criminal penalties for non-compliance. The assessment of damages from technology theft will now factor in not only the profits from the transfer or sale of the technology but the development costs incurred as well.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups unveiled these plans on Wednesday during a meeting with economic affairs ministers, presenting a comprehensive strategy to strengthen protections and relief for startup innovations. A key aspect of this plan is tightening penalties that have been criticized for being overly lenient. The ministry’s previous responses to technology theft reports mostly consisted of non-binding “corrective recommendations.”

The ministry also aims to revise regulations to impose compensation responsibilities of up to five times the damages for tech theft incidents occurring before contract negotiations, including during investment discussions. The plan also seeks to elevate enforcement measures from “corrective recommendations” to obligatory “corrective orders,” which would allow for criminal charges against those who fail to comply.

When compensating companies recognized as victims of technology theft, the government will revise its assessment criteria to favor the affected companies. Currently, only the actual damages resulting from the transfer or sale of the technology can be compensated, but costs related to the development of new technologies that have not yet hit the market will also be considered as part of the damages moving forward.


By Seo Jeong-won and Minu Kim

Copyrights Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (October 17, 2024)