닫기

Resources

Publications

A New Front in Technology Export and Import Controls: Protecting Intellectual Property Through the Korea Trade Commission and Korea Customs Service

2026.08.19.

As technological competition intensifies in industries of national strategic importance – such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, and defense technologies – technology export and import controls can no longer be addressed through ex ante measures such as export approvals or reporting requirements alone. Technology that has already been leaked or misappropriated is increasingly embodied in specific products that are then exported or imported across borders, and devising swift and effective ex post remedies for such circumstances has become a core pillar of any robust technology export and import control framework.


This is not a challenge confined to Korean companies – the same risk applies equally to overseas companies that supply components or technology to Korean firms, overseas partners that have entered into joint development or licensing arrangements with Korean companies, and overseas rights holders seeking to protect their patents or trade secrets in the Korean market.


A Korea Trade Commission ("KTC") investigation concerning batteries, reported in February 2026, illustrates how such risks can materialize within a multinational supply chain. A non-practicing entity, acting on patents assigned by a Korean battery manufacturer, filed a petition with the KTC alleging unfair trade practices against a Chinese battery cell manufacturer and a battery pack manufacturer. As a result, the production and sale of Korean vehicle models equipped with those batteries were thrown into uncertainty. The case illustrates how, in the typical multinational supply chain – where technology supplied by an overseas parts manufacturer is incorporated into a domestically assembled vehicle that is then exported abroad – a single patent dispute can escalate into a risk affecting the entire supply chain.


For more details, please refer to the full report attached below.