There is a growing voice that the introduction of the 'Korean-style evidence collection system (K-discovery)' is necessary to prevent technology theft damage to small and medium-sized enterprises. This system requires plaintiffs in patent infringement lawsuits to compel defendants to submit evidence.
The Jeongwon Foundation, in collaboration with the Democratic Party's Euljiro Committee, hosted a legislative forum on legislative measures for eradicating technology theft under the theme 'How to solve the imbalanced playing field in technology theft lawsuits?' in the 2nd meeting room of the National Assembly Members' Hall on the 9th.
This forum was held to prepare a legislative proposal that consolidates opinions from relevant agencies and stakeholders based on a consensus on institutional improvement tasks for eradicating technology theft.
Participating in the forum were Democratic Party lawmakers including Kim Nam-keun, Min Byung-deok, Song Jae-bong, Oh Se-hee, Park Min-kyu, and Jeong Jin-wook, as well as over 60 attendees from relevant departments including the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups, the Fair Trade Commission, and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, discussing the introduction of the Korean-style evidence collection system.
First, Park Hee-gyeong, a lawyer from the Jeongwon Foundation, presented on the topic 'The limitations and improvement directions of the current evidence system through case analysis of technology theft lawsuits,' arguing for the necessity of improving the evidence collection system.
Park pointed out the issues with the current evidence collection system revealed in cases of technology infringement lawsuits, explaining that 'the introduction of fact-finding by experts and the establishment of proper guidelines for institutional settlement is important.'
Additionally, he argued for the introduction of a preservation order system to ensure the effectiveness of evidence collection through expert fact-finding and the necessity of implementing a system to record statements outside the court.
The next presenter, Seochi-won, a lawyer from the Wongok Law Firm, mentioned the direction for introducing the Korean-style evidence collection system and the review of legislative proposals. He explained issues such as resolving information asymmetry, strengthening procedural fairness, comparing overseas evidence collection systems, and the core agenda discussed in the National Assembly regarding the target and scope of expert fact-finding.
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-keun said, 'Even if small and medium-sized enterprises suffer from technology theft damage, it is not easy to prove damage in technology theft lawsuits,' adding, 'I will make every effort in legislation to secure the substantive truth in technology infringement lawsuits and to restore the imbalanced playing field through the introduction of a German-style expert fact-finding system.'
Jang Tae-gwan, the director of the Jeongwon Foundation, stated, 'As a former victim company and a partner of small and medium-sized enterprises suffering from technology theft, the legislation of the Korean-style evidence collection system is an overwhelming matter,' and added, 'The foundation will do its utmost to ensure that the Korean-style evidence collection system can settle on the ground after legislation.'