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LS Mtron, a subsidiary of LS Group, which mainly manufactures agricultural machinery, was caught stealing subcontractor's technology and even patenting it as if it were their own technology.
The Fair Trade Commission imposed the largest fine ever.
This is reporter Jang Hoon-kyung.
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This is a patent for manufacturing rubber hoses for various parts such as automobiles that LS Mtron applied for.
Instead of the conventional manufacturing method of connecting pipes little by little to create a bend, it is a method of digging several grooves in the pipe and bending it as much as you want at once.
It is quick to manufacture and costs only a quarter of that of conventional methods.
The Fair Trade Commission determined that all of these technologies were developed by subcontractors.
It is said that he requested two design drawings from a subcontractor without justifiable reasons, and received research notes on the manufacturing method while ignoring legal procedures.
The Fair Trade Commission imposed a fine of 1.386 billion won, the largest ever for technology misappropriation, saying that LS Mtron even issued a patent for a single owner with the stolen technology.
[Nam-Shin Anna / Manager of Technology Utilization
Monitoring Team at the Fair Trade Commission: This is the first case where a (large company) sanctioned an act that was useful in applying and registering a patent under his/her own name.]
He says he cut deals and lost work, and had to let all 11 of his employees go.
[Kim Jong-wan/CEO of the victim company: (LS Mtron) has cut off the transaction, the transaction has been cut off.
I got some samples.
It was handed over to another company and manufactured by another company...
I couldn't keep it any longer, so I asked the staff for their understanding.]
LS Mtron said, "The patent is not a subcontractor, but the original technology of a German company that has signed a technology transfer contract."
(Video coverage: Jeon Gyeong-bae, Kim Min-cheol, video editing: Park Chun-bae, VJ: Park Hyeon-woo)