Starting in December, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will directly investigate technology infringement
Technology Protection Legal Support Team Scheduled to Provide Attorney Support for SMEs
Failure to issue a non-disclosure agreement will be considered a technology theft company.
On the 5th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups held the '2nd Meeting of the Task Force to Eradicate Technology Theft from SMEs' at the 2nd Conference Room of the National Police Agency.

Six relevant agencies, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the Fair Trade Commission, the National Police Agency, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office, attended this meeting, which was convened following the first meeting held on May 16. The fact that the Ministry of SMEs and Startups held the meeting at the National Police Agency can be interpreted as a demonstration of the government's determination to eradicate technology theft.
In his opening remarks, Minister Hong Jong-hak of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups declared that the theft of technology from small and medium-sized enterprises is a serious criminal act that hinders innovative growth and is a social evil, and announced various countermeasures.

Starting in December, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will be able to directly investigate acts of technology infringement by small and medium-sized enterprises and issue recommendations for correction and public disclosure. In addition, it has decided to establish a technology protection support cooperation system and exchange information through the Technology Protection Support Team and the Technology Protection Council with relevant regional organizations. In addition, it was decided to operate a technology protection legal support team that provides lawyers and patent attorneys to small and medium-sized enterprises with excellent technology, reduce deposit fees for startup ventures, and provide free support to young entrepreneurs.

Additionally, we are pursuing the introduction of punitive damages, the shifting and strengthening of the burden of proof, and the mandatory conclusion of non-disclosure agreements. We are striving to prevent technology theft by public institutions and the potential misuse of electronic systems between large corporations and their partner companies. Furthermore, investigative agencies, including the police and prosecution, will use whether offending companies regularly issue non-disclosure agreements as a criterion for determining technology theft. We have requested relevant agencies to implement measures to consider companies that fail to issue such agreements as having committed technology theft.
In response, National Police Commissioner Min Gap-ryong pledged to actively pursue the establishment of a rapid inter-agency cooperation system for socially urgent and serious crimes. He also emphasized the need for legal and institutional improvements to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and venture companies can develop technology and conduct business with peace of mind.

The six relevant agencies attending the meeting on this day reaffirmed the necessity and importance of eradicating technology theft from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Recognizing that technology theft is a serious criminal act that hinders innovative growth and is a social evil, they pledged close cooperation with relevant ministries. They reached a consensus that it is absolutely necessary to establish a culture where companies (organizations), including public institutions, that do business with SMEs are required to sign non-disclosure agreements.