Calls to expand the investigative scope of the Ministry of Intellectual Property's special judicial police (special investigators) to include cases such as advanced technology leaks emerged at the National Assembly. The reason given is that the abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority could create gaps in probes into advanced technology leaks.
On the 13th, according to the National Assembly, Huh Sung-moo of the Democratic Party of Korea said this at a settlement of account inquiry of the National Assembly's Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee the previous day, telling Minister Kim Yong-seon of the Ministry of Intellectual Property, "We must minimize harm to the public and industry during the process of abolishing the supplementary investigation authority."
Currently, the Ministry of Intellectual Property's special investigators can investigate violations of laws under its jurisdiction, such as the Patent Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, but the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening and Protecting the Competitiveness of National Advanced Strategic Industries (National Advanced Strategic Industries Act) and the Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology are not within their investigative scope.
Until now, when the special investigators probed violations of the Patent Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act and referred the cases to prosecutors, prosecutors handled portions falling under the National Advanced Strategic Industries Act and the Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology through supplementary investigations. However, with the abolition of prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority, concerns have been raised that additional investigations will be difficult for technology leak suspicions that the special investigators cannot directly handle, creating gaps.
Huh said, "The Ministry of Intellectual Property should actively review measures that can eliminate blind spots in technology leak investigations, such as establishing a multi-agency cooperation system."
In response, the Minister said, "From the early stages of investigations, we will work with the police and, if necessary, conduct joint investigations to eliminate any investigative gaps."
As a follow-up measure, Huh plans to propose a partial amendment to the Act on Persons Who Perform the Duties of Judicial Police Officers and the Scope of Their Duties to expand the investigative scope of special investigators to the National Advanced Strategic Industries Act and the Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology.