The Korea Fair Trade Commission decided on the 22nd to impose a 36 million won penalty surcharge and a corrective order on Semics, a semiconductor inspection equipment manufacturer, for alleged violations of the Fair Transactions in Subcontracting Act.
According to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), Semics outsourced the manufacturing of a prober chiller, a temperature control device needed for semiconductor inspection equipment, to a subcontractor. In the process, Semics requested three items of technical data by email, including piping drawings and a parts list for the prober chiller. However, it did not provide a document stating the reasons for requesting the technical data.
The Fair Transactions in Subcontracting Act prohibits requesting technical data from a subcontractor without a legitimate reason. Article 12-3, paragraph 2 of the same law stipulates that when requesting technical data, the parties must consult in advance on the purpose of the request, the attribution of rights, compensation, and other matters, and provide a written document specifying them.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said, "Even though this is a case involving a small number of technical data requests between small and midsize enterprises, we imposed a penalty surcharge," adding, "We will closely monitor not only acts of technology misappropriation but also procedural violations related to requests for technical data."