A nationwide survey in South Korea found overwhelming support for stronger punishment and broader economic security measures to address overseas leakage of core technologies, including semiconductors. The poll, released by the Korea Employers Federation and reported by Yonhap and Aju Daily, comes as the country's advanced industries play an outsized role in the economy.
According to the results, 92.5% of respondents said overseas leakage of core technologies had a serious negative effect on South Korea's economy. Of those surveyed, 62.6% called the impact very serious, while 29.9% described it as serious. The poll was conducted June 15-18, 2026, among 1,000 adults nationwide aged 19 and older.
Support was also strong for a legal framework centered on economic security, with 91.4% of respondents saying South Korea should adopt a system similar to those in the US and China. Only 7.8% said existing measures were sufficient. On penalties, 90.7% said punishment should be strengthened further, and 90.6% supported adding financial sanctions on top of prison terms.
The survey said the top concern was that technology leakage could narrow South Korea's gap with follower countries and weaken national competitiveness, cited by 53% of respondents. Other concerns included risks to national security and supply chain stability, lower sales from reduced global market share, and damage to jobs and tax revenue as core industries decline.
KEF said the issue has become more urgent as domestic cases involving overseas leakage of core technologies rose from 9 in 2021 to 33 in 2025. The federation said related incidents have caused an estimated KRW23 trillion (US$15.55 billion) in losses since 2020, while the harshest prison sentence in a South Korean leakage case has been 6 years and 4 months. By comparison, the US and China have used much tougher penalty systems to deter technology theft, according to the federation.
Article edited by Jingyue Hsiao
