기술혁신을 위한 제도적 생태계에 대한 고찰 : 이직의 자유와 경업금지약정의 유효성 문제를 중심으로

This article starts from the premise that the development of technological knowledge for innovation is closely linked to (i) the institutional latitude granted to employees’ post-employment mobility in the name of trade secret protection and (ii) the resulting level of labor mobility in relevant industries. It further argues that the broader institutional ecosystem surrounding these elements substantially shapes the level and trajectory of technological innovation within a given country and industry. To examine this relationship, the study reviews empirical evidence on whether and how labor mobility contributes to knowledge diffusion and innovation performance. In doing so, it aims to provide an empirical foundation for structuring the legal doctrine governing non-compete agreements—an indirect instrument for trade secret protection—at a reasonable and balanced level. Although related debates have developed across multiple disciplines, including law and technology management, prior work has often remained confined within disciplinary boundaries in terms of agenda, scope, and methodology. Recognizing this limitation, the article adopts an explicitly interdisciplinary perspective and engages with adjacent theoretical frameworks and empirical findings to develop a more nuanced account of the underlying dynamics. Pursuing this objective, the article examines the interaction between labor mobility and technological innovation primarily through a careful synthesis of prior empirical studies, while also drawing on theories of technological innovation in the technology-management literature. In particular, by considering insights from the Regional Innovation System (RIS) framework, it highlights mechanisms through which labor mobility may function as a channel of knowledge diffusion and thereby contribute positively to innovation. At the same time, it also confirms a countervailing possibility: excessive labor mobility can undermine firms’ appropriability of innovation returns, weakening incentives to invest in R&D. From a legal perspective, the article organizes the core issues concerning the enforceability of non-compete agreements in Korean case law and scholarly debates. Interpreted in conjunction with innovation-theory insights, the analysis suggests that strengthening enforceability may suppress labor mobility and knowledge diffusion and thereby hinder exploratory and recombinative innovation, while potentially promoting exploitative innovation centered on internal optimization and incremental improvement. Finally, the article offers policy implications for Korea by emphasizing that legal and policy approaches to non-compete agreements should be tailored to the country’s industrial structure and labor-market conditions. In 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the Non-Compete Clause Rule, which should be understood as a measure developed in light of the United States’ industrial structure and related institutional context. By contrast, Korea is characterized by a capital-intensive, manufacturing-based industrial structure dominated by large firms and by relatively lower labor-market flexibility, including comparatively stringent employment protection. Because the regulatory effects of non-compete agreements are likely to manifest differently across such divergent environments, designing concrete doctrine and policy—and determining the resulting level of industry labor mobility—is inherently complex and must rest on holistic, multifaceted policy judgment. Accordingly, Korea’s legal and policy framework on non-compete agreements should be carefully designed and implemented in a manner consistent with the country’s technological innovation policy and its specific institutional conditions.