Former DSME employees on trial for leaking submarine design to Taiwan

The former headquarters of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, now Hanwha Ocean, in Jung District, central Seoul [KIM KYEONG-ROK]

Former employees of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), which is now Hanwha Ocean, are on trial for their alleged involvement in leaking a submarine design layout to Taiwan.

The prosecution indicted two key suspects last year for alleged violations of the Foreign Trade Act and Trade Secret Protection Act, Hanwha Ocean said Thursday. The statement follows media reports suggesting that the company only recently became aware of the leak, although the shipbuilder said that it has known of the incident since 2019.

The two individuals leaked trade secrets regarding the submarine design layout during their tenure at DSME and later joined a consulting firm engaged in submarine development, where they also allegedly revealed the information in question, according to media reports. The consulting firm engaged in a project with CSBC, Taiwan's state-run corporation, for the development of Taiwan's first home grown submarine, Haikun.

The leaked submarine design is associated with the DSME1400 model, three of which DSME contracted for $1.1 billion in 2011. The vessels were delivered in 2019.

Hanwha Ocean acknowledged that the two employees had violated the Foreign Trade Act and Trade Secret Protection Act, but denied that they had violated the Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology — which governs leaks that could critically affect the nation's security and economy.

“The incident occurred during the Daewoo era, and DSME actively cooperated with investigations during that time,” Hanwha Ocean said in a statement Thursday. “We are committed to holding individuals accountable for technology leaks, including those from the DSME era, and will rigorously pursue legal action.”

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]