This file photo, taken May 2, 2022, shows people heading to their offices in the financial district of Yeouido, western Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 6 (Korea Bizwire) — More than half of trade secret leaks that South Korean firms have suffered over the past five years were committed by retired employees, a survey showed Wednesday.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office conducted a fact-finding survey with the collaboration of 8,269 local businesses. Of the total, 76.8 percent said they have trade secrets.
Among the companies that said they hold trade secrets, 1 percent had suffered damages from trade secret leaks during the five-year period from 2017 to 2022.
At 51.2 percent, more than half of the trade secret leaks were committed by retired employees, followed by incumbent employees at 26.4 percent and outsiders at 24 percent.
By sector, the leakage ratio for the manufacturing sector, including the food and beverage industry, was the highest at 2.3 percent, followed by the electric and electronic sectors, including semiconductors, at 2.1 percent.
The share of those who had directly experienced or indirectly witnessed unfair competition behaviors over the past five years stood at 5.2 percent.
By behavior type, imitation of product shape ranked first at 2 percent, followed by confusion between product and sales entity at 1.6 percent, false labeling of origin at 1.5 percent and idea theft at 1.5 percent.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
