"Amid Stronger Crackdowns on Technology Leaks and Counterfeits by the Ministry of Intellectual Property"... Intellectual Property Crime Suspects Rose 32% in the First Half

[Financial News] As enforcement against intellectual property infringement crimes has been strengthened, the number of people caught leaking or stealing technologies and distributing counterfeit goods has risen sharply.
The Ministry of Intellectual Property said on the 3rd that it conducted an intensive investigation into intellectual property infringement crimes, including technology leaks and theft and counterfeit goods, during the first half of this year and referred a total of 347 suspects to prosecutors. This was a 32% increase from 262 during the same period last year.
The Ministry of Intellectual Property was elevated last year from an office-level agency to a ministry-level agency under the direct authority of the prime minister, reemerging as the control tower overseeing intellectual property policy across government ministries. It has consequently strengthened its cooperation with relevant agencies, including the NIS, prosecutors and the Police, improving the speed of initial responses and the rate of preventive blocking against serious crimes such as the leakage of national core technologies.
By category, 161 technology crime suspects were referred to prosecutors, a 33% increase from 121 during the same period last year. Design infringement suspects recorded the sharpest increase, surging 137% from 27 to 64. Suspects involved in patent and utility model infringements also rose 16%, from 38 to 44.
In January, the Ministry of Intellectual Property worked with the NIS and prosecutors to detect in advance and arrest a foreign national suspected of attempting to leak national core technologies, including all-solid-state battery development information, overseas. In February, after analyzing more than 23,000 pages of investigation records related to an eyewear imitation crime, it arrested a suspect for the first time in a case involving imitation of a product’s appearance and secured the preservation of 7.8 billion won in criminal proceeds for confiscation.
In investigations into counterfeit goods and trademark crimes, 186 people were referred to prosecutors, a 32% increase from 141 during the same period last year. A total of 44,482 counterfeit items were seized, with a value of 61.98 billion won based on the value of genuine products.
In particular, considering the sharp increase in foreign tourists driven by the K-culture boom, authorities focused enforcement on major tourist districts such as Myeong-dong. In January, they seized 3,702 counterfeit items worth 18.2 billion won at genuine-product prices from sellers targeting tourists. In February and March, they also detected and seized more than 27,000 counterfeit goods featuring K-pop stars such as BTS, responding to infringements involving Korean Wave content.
The number of suspects in intellectual property infringement cases received during the first half of this year totaled 470, based on the number of suspects, up 21% from 388 during the same period last year and continuing an upward trend.
The number of suspects in technology leak and theft cases, including trade secret violations, surged 180%, from 15 to 42. The average number of suspects per case also more than doubled, from 1.7 to 3.5, demonstrating that the crimes have become more organized and sophisticated. In counterfeit goods cases, direct complaints filed by trademark holders jumped 200%, from 46 to 138, highlighting rights holders’ more active response.
Jeong Yeon-woo, deputy head of the Ministry of Intellectual Property, said, "In preparation for the surge in cases, we expanded our investigative personnel and organization in June from two divisions with 52 employees to five divisions with 86 employees." He added, "Based on our specialized investigative capabilities, we will faithfully protect the core technologies and products of Korean companies."
[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter