South Korean prosecutors recover 123.8 billion won in technology leak crime investigation... 73 arrested and indicted

In order to prevent crimes involving the leakage of nationally important technology, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (equivalent to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Japan) established the Technology Leakage Crime Investigation Support Center and conducted an investigation, resulting in 100 billion won (approximately 1.2 billion won) in damages over a period of two years and eight months.
According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office on the 25th, the prosecution has succeeded in recovering 226 cases of technology leaks through direct investigations over the two years and eight months from September 2022 to this month.
73 people were arrested and indicted. As a result, criminal proceeds recovered amount to approximately 123.8 billion won (approximately 12 billion yen). Compared to 2022, the arrest rate was 4.9%, the prosecution rate was 8.8%, and the
The prison sentence rate increased to 12.6%, while the acquittal rate decreased by 3.3%. Prior to this, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced in September 2022 that it would establish a Technology Leakage Crime Investigation Support Center under the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Scientific Investigation Department.
The aim of the investigation is to deal with the increasing number of crimes involving the outflow of important national technologies, such as semiconductors and secondary batteries, to foreign countries, including China.
The prosecution consists of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, and the
Specialized investigative units have been established in the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office and other district prosecutors' offices, and specialized personnel, such as patent attorneys and prosecutors with science and engineering degrees, have been deployed.
The Supreme Court Sentencing Committee raised the sentencing standards in March of last year after gathering opinions from related agencies, including the prosecution and the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
As a result, the rate at which suspects are detained and defendants are given prison sentences has increased, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office explained.
A pan-government joint response team for technology leaks was launched in November 2023, and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office is also discussing the idea of setting up a joint investigation team for technology leak crimes in order to respond quickly and organically.
On the 8th, a Japan-US-Korea roundtable was held with the participation of the FBI, the Japanese National Police Agency, and others, to strengthen the international mutual assistance network related to technology leak crimes.
A Supreme Prosecutors' Office official said, "Technology leaks are serious crimes that threaten national security, and because they can turn long-term, large-scale investments into nothing in an instant and make it difficult to recover from the damage, we will take strong measures to punish them and deprive them of economic benefits.
"It is essential to block such activities in advance," he said, adding, "We will thoroughly recover any illegal profits obtained through the crime and make it clear that no profits can be gained from the crime of technology leaks."