Korean tech transfer fears are ‘misplaced’

The Chinese electronics firm BOE Group is widely known here for acquiring and turning around a struggling local display manufacturer, and its chairman Wang Dongsheng said Koreans should not be worried about a “leakage” of technology to other countries. In early 2003, when BOE took over Hydis, then the display-producing division of Hynix Semiconductor Inc., there were concerns in the Korean business community that locally developed technologies would find their way into the hands of Chinese companies, thus eroding Korea’s competitive edge over its northern neighbor in the display industry. However, Mr. Wang, 48, who is in Seoul to attend the 8th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention, said he believes Korea’s fears on this score are misplaced. “Most technologies will be rendered meaningless unless they’re commercialized and made known to the public,” he said. “One shouldn’t close the door on technology transfers just because of concerns about losing a competitive edge to other nations.” He added if the deal with Korea had fallen through, Japan could have become the dominant foreign nation in China’s display industry because Japanese companies had expressed an interest in the Chinese market prior to the Hydis transaction. “If Korea really wants to become a technological hub, it needs to overcome its fears of leaking information,” Mr. Wang said. “It should instead encourage commercialization of its technologies.” Mr. Wang noted the significance of BOE’s takeover of Hydis, saying the deal “was an important rendezvous of Chinese funding and Korean technology and a win-win situation for everyone involved.” BOE Group has received considerable support from the Chinese government, which Mr. Wang said has designated the display industry as key to the nation’s future, and is offering benefits such as tax breaks to the whole industry. “It’s only a matter of time before China starts building seventh-generation production facilities that are on a par with Korean plants,” he said. by Lee Hyun-sang