The number of people sent to prosecutors in the first half of this year for intellectual property infringement crimes, such as technology leaks and counterfeit goods, rose by more than 30% from a year earlier.
The Ministry of Intellectual Property said it referred a total of 347 people to prosecutors in the first half through investigations into intellectual property infringement crimes. That is a 32% increase from 262 in the same period last year.
In the technology crime sector, 161 people were referred, up 33% from 121 a year earlier. Design infringement offenders increased 137%, from 27 to 64, and patent and utility model infringement offenders also rose from 38 to 44.
Major cases included arresting a foreign suspect after detecting an attempt to leak overseas national core technologies, such as all-solid-state battery development information. In a case involving imitation of eyewear product designs, investigators arrested the suspect and secured a preservation order for 7.8 billion won in criminal proceeds.
Those referred for counterfeit goods crimes numbered 186, up 32% from a year earlier. Seized counterfeit goods totaled 44,482 items, valued at about 62 billion won based on genuine prices.
Commerical districts popular with foreign tourists and K-pop–related counterfeit goods were also key targets of crackdowns. On Jan. 1, authorities caught a counterfeit goods seller targeting tourists and seized 3,702 items worth 18.2 billion won at genuine prices. In Feb.–Mar., they seized about 27,000 counterfeit goods related to K-pop stars including BTS.
The pool of investigation targets is also growing. The number of people whose cases were received for intellectual property infringement in the first half was 470, up 21% from 388 in the same period last year. In particular, suspects in technology leakage and misappropriation cases, such as trade secrets, increased 180%, from 15 to 42. Suspects per case also rose from 1.7 to 3.5, indicating more cases involving multiple people.
In counterfeit goods cases, complaints and accusations filed by trademark holders increased nearly threefold, from 47 to 140. Of these, 138 cases were filed directly by the trademark holder.
Vice Minister Jeong Yeon-woo of the Ministry of Intellectual Property said, "In response to the rise in intellectual property infringement cases, in Jun. we expanded the investigation unit from two divisions and 52 personnel to five divisions and 86 personnel," adding, "Based on this, we will improve the speed and accuracy of investigations to faithfully protect domestic technologies, products and corporations."