Geoje shipyard operated by Hanwha Ocean (previously known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) (Image courtesy of Hanwha Ocean)
GEOJE, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) –Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, currently known as Hanwha Ocean, is embroiled in a security breach involving the leak of submarine blueprints to Taiwan, with the South Korean police conducting an investigation.
According to police reports on January 4, the South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency has begun an investigation into two former employees of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, identified only as Mr. A and another individual. They are suspected of leaking internal technology, a violation of the Act on Prevention of Unfair Competition and Protection of Trade Secrets.
Mr. A and his associate reportedly siphoned submarine blueprints while employed at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and then moved to Company B, a submarine development consulting firm.
The police believe that these individuals subsequently handed over the blueprints to Taiwanese entities.
The leaked submarine blueprints pertain to the DSME1400 model, which Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering secured in 2011 through a $1.1 billion (approximately 1.44 trillion won) deal for three submarines with Indonesia.
These submarines were delivered to Indonesia in 2019.
The police suspect that the blueprints were leaked during the collaboration between Company B and the Taiwan International Shipbuilding Corporation (CSBC) in submarine construction.
It is reported that these blueprints were used in the development of Taiwan’s first domestically-produced submarine, the Haikun.
Company B is currently on trial for allegedly exporting parts used in the production of the Haikun submarine overseas without authorization last year.
In August of last year, a first-instance court sentenced an executive of Company B to one year and six months in prison, suspended for two years, and fined the company 1 billion won for violating the Foreign Trade Act.
In response to this incident, a representative from Hanwha Ocean stated, “We have not received any notification from the police regarding the direction of the investigation related to the leak of the Indonesian export-type submarine blueprints. We plan to further strengthen our internal security measures.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
