[단독]China, which is lagging behind in LNG ships, has stolen Korea’s core national technology, which is ranked first in the world.

[韓조선업 핵심기술 中유출]

Police Investigate Leakage of 2 or More Cases Including ‘Cargo Hold’
K-Shipbuilding’s high value-added ship… China’s pinpoint attack on veteran partners
“85% of Ship Technology Leaks Are Core National Technologies… Concerns Over Losing 1st Place in LNG Ships to China”

It has been confirmed that the Coast Guard and the police have launched an investigation after discovering that at least two key technologies related to the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships, which are considered the last bastion of ‘K-shipbuilding’, have leaked to China. While Korea has been number one in the world in LNG shipbuilding, there is a growing sense of crisis that it could soon lose its top spot to China due to technology leaks.

● China aims for first place in LNG ships

According to a comprehensive report from the Dong-A Ilbo on the 3rd, the Coast Guard and police have begun an investigation after receiving information from the National Intelligence Service that the technology to improve the quality of the ‘cargo hold’ used in LNG ships was transferred to a Chinese company. The cargo hold is a tank that stores LNG and is a key facility in an LNG ship that requires the most advanced manufacturing technology. Most of these technologies have been designated as national core technologies.

The investigative authorities believe that the technology was leaked when personnel working in Korea moved to China or provided shipbuilding consulting to Chinese companies. An investigative official said, “In July and August alone, two LNG ship technology leak investigations were launched,” and “In particular, attempts by China to leak technology and personnel in the LNG ship sector are increasing.”

LNG ships are typical high value-added ships and are the main products of the Korean shipbuilding industry. Because they require a high level of technology, they are evaluated as the only sector in which the Chinese shipbuilding industry has not surpassed Korea. According to the ‘Comprehensive Evaluation of National Competitive Advantage by Ship Type’ announced by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade in May, China has already surpassed Korea in the container ships, bulk ships, and oil tankers sectors. On the other hand, Korea has the upper hand in the LNG ship sector, with Korea scoring 93.3 points and China scoring 85.8 points.

Recently, China has been promoting LNG ship development at the national level. In the 14th Five-Year Plan for 2021, the Chinese government announced its goal of “strengthening the core competitiveness of LNG ships by strengthening technological capabilities and reducing manufacturing costs.” It is to surpass Korea and become the world’s number one LNG ship country.

What China is after is K-shipbuilding’s ‘national core technology’. National core technology refers to technology that is judged to have a negative impact on national economic development and security if leaked overseas. According to the National Intelligence Service, 18 cases of technology leaks were detected in the Korean shipbuilding industry from 2014 to last year, and 85%, or 15 cases, were national core technologies. In the semiconductor industry during the same period, 10 out of 45 cases (22.2%) were national core technologies. It is possible to interpret that national core technologies are not properly protected in the shipbuilding industry.

Woo Jong-hoon, a professor at Seoul National University’s Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, said, “China’s technological prowess has reached a certain level, but quality issues such as stored LNG leaking still persist,” adding, “In order to catch up with Korea in the short term, Korea’s core technologies are inevitably needed.”

● ‘Highly skilled’ people leaving for China

China is persistently exploiting the weaknesses of the Korean shipbuilding industry, such as low wages. According to the National Intelligence Service and others, several key personnel related to LNG ship manufacturing who were working at a large domestic shipyard’s subcontractor moved to a Chinese state-owned shipbuilding company early this year. They were veterans who had worked in the LNG ship sector for 15 to 20 years and were called “high-skilled workers” in the shipbuilding industry. It is said that they were dissatisfied with low wages and treatment and went over to the Chinese side after receiving a large offer.

A shipbuilding industry insider said, “From the end of last year to this year, about 30 people who worked for large companies’ subcontractors left for China,” and “The job change itself is not illegal, but it is a big problem that their know-how is being transferred to China.” It is also possible that key technologies were leaked during the job change. Experts added, “Large companies are thoroughly managing the personnel they directly employ, but the situation is different for subcontractors,” and “This is why China mainly targets subcontractors’ employees.”

Park Chan-joon, director of the Korea Industrial Technology Protection Association, emphasized that “the outflow of human resources from the Korean shipbuilding industry is often caused by professional brokers,” and that “brokers know in advance what technologies China needs and who has them, and they approach them with a ‘tweezers’ approach.” He added that “in particular, they often target partner companies that are experiencing financial difficulties.”

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Reporter Byun Jong-guk [email protected]

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2024-09-03 20:42:13