While South Korea has a reputation for innovation, its economic development over the past half-century has been driven in large part by its ability to “absorb” and develop technologies — whether in the chip, battery, auto or shipbuilding sectors — that were invented elsewhere.
This was achieved principally through officially sanctioned “technical co-operation” with US and Japanese companies long since replaced as market leaders by their former partners. But it was sometimes supplemented by sharper practices. In one famous case dating back to the late 2000s, South Korea’s Kolon Industries paid $360mn in penalties and compensation over a conspiracy to convert trade secrets relating to the production of Kevlar body armour fibre from US chemicals giant DuPont.
Now South Korea finds itself potentially being subjected to similar practices from China — a problem illustrated by a legal battle being waged in the US between Samsung Display and Chinese state-owned rival BOE Technology, formerly Beijing Oriental Economics.