Lotte Healthcare has withdrawn from the nutritional supplement dispenser business, ending a dispute over its alleged theft of Algocare's technology.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young) announced on the 24th that the technology dispute between Algocare and Lotte Healthcare was finally concluded through mediation of technology disputes between small and medium-sized enterprises.

Algocare is a startup that develops and sells personalized nutrition management dispensers. Lotte Healthcare raised suspicions of technology theft when it launched a similar product at CES 2023.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups began an administrative investigation into Lotte Healthcare and others in February after receiving a report of technological infringement by Algocare. However, concerned that the investigation process could lead to a prolonged and costly confrontation between the two parties, the Ministry persuaded the parties to participate in the mediation process.

After receiving the mediation, an independent mediation committee (3 members) was formed and the two sides listened to each other's positions alternately and focused on mediating the tug-of-war. As a result, both sides finally accepted the mediation plan, which included the withdrawal of Lotte Healthcare from the nutritional supplement dispenser business, mutual cooperation and coexistence efforts, and prohibition of wasteful defamation, putting an end to the six-month dispute that had continued since the beginning of the year.

Minister Lee Young said, “This case is significant in that it quickly resolved the controversy over technology theft by a startup company through the linkage of administrative investigation and technology dispute mediation.” He added, “The mediation system is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method that can reduce the financial and time burden compared to court rulings, and we will work to activate the system so that companies involved in technology disputes can easily utilize it.”