According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,
While enhancing funding and systematic support for chips, vaccines, EVs, and batteries categorized as national strategic industries through a special law, South Korea aims to toughen protection from technology leakage and loss of skilled employees to offshore competitors.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is working on details of the first draft of the special act to promote core national strategic industries with the government and ruling Democratic Party, according to sources from the government. They plan to issue a draft within this month and enact the bill next month.
The talks have begun after the government and ruling party agreed on the need to have a special bill to support the country’s semiconductor players amid intensifying global competition. They have added the electric vehicle battery, biotech and future car sectors to the list of core national strategic industries that can determine the country’s competitiveness and have sought to protect the businesses by creating a new law due to the World Trade Organization’s ban on state backing for certain industries.
They have also reached a consensus that it is important to prevent illegitimate transferring of core technologies to other countries to support the industries. Moreover, the country must reinforce its industrial security to protect technologies of its core national industries, according to an official from the trade ministry.
The government and ruling party are considering imposing tougher criminal punishment on those charged with technology leakage after receiving opinion from the National Assembly legislative research agency.
“The government is working on a strong protective measure for industries designated as core national strategic industries such as vaccine, battery and semiconductor,” a government official said.
By Oh Chan-jong and Choi Mira
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Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (August 10, 2021)