경제안보 강화를 위한 기술유출 방지 법제도 연구

Amid the escalating technological hegemony competition between the U.S. and China and the full-scale reorganization of global supply chains, incidents of international technology leakage are surging. Technology leakage has transcended being a mere issue for private corporations and is now emerging as a core threat to economic security. Consequently, major countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and Taiwan are strengthening their legal systems to punish the leakage of industrial technology as espionage. In contrast, South Korea is primarily responding through special acts, such as the 「ACT ON PREVENTION OF DIVULGENCE AND PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY」 and the 「UNFAIR COMPETITION PREVENTION AND TRADE SECRET PROTECTION ACT」. However, these offenses persist because the level of punishment is low, and the economic profits gained from technology leakage far outweigh the legal penalties. Furthermore, the espionage charge under the CRIMINAL ACT is restricted to the enemy state(North Korea), and a clear definition of national secrets is lacking, creating a legal vacuum. Therefore, this study proposes improvement measures to enhance the effectiveness of the criminal response system for industrial technology leakage. It is necessary to expand the legal scope to apply espionage charges to acts of industrial technology leakage and to strengthen the legal basis for technology protection by comprehensively redefining the concept of national secrets. Concurrently, national secrets must be clearly defined, legislative reforms must be pursued to support this, and the legal and institutional foundation for preventing technology leakage must be established by strengthening the reward system for whistleblowers.