산업스파이범죄의 실태와 법적 규제의 문제점

Since 1990s, the world economy has been changing to knowledge-based economy in which the intangible assets such as information, knowledge and etc. are more important than the tangible assets such as labor, capital and land etc. In terms of patent application's number, Korea is the 4th country after the U. S., Japan, Germany and China. But, Korea is still showing a deficit regarding techniques trade balance. But also, infrastructure and legislation to protect trade secret is not in good shape. Korean companies such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG are doing leading role in relevant industry, so many industrial spies are seeking to steal the trade secret in these companies. Therefore, it is necessary for the Korean Government to revise the relevant laws and regulations for the effective enforcement on the industrial spies. This study aims to review the statistics and types of activities of industrial spies and the problems of legislation in this field. The major law in this field is the "Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act" which was revised many times. The Act prescribes specific types of acts of infringing on trade secrets. The Act also defines trade secret as any technical or operational information useful for any production and sale methods and other business activities which is not known to the public, has an independent economic value, and has been maintained in secret by considerable efforts. However, many remain unclear as to the scope, purpose and practical applica tion of the Act. This study will assist you to understand the concept of the industrial spy and introduce the guidance for protection the benefit of our national property and the company's profit.