By Choonsik Yoo ( September 17, 2026, 03:10 GMT | Insight) -- South Korea has made the biggest change in more than seven decades to the anti-espionage provisions of its criminal code, potentially widening the legal arsenal against theft of trade secrets and advanced technologies as the country confronts growing risks involving semiconductors, artificial intelligence and other strategic industries. The revised Criminal Act, which took effect on Sunday, imposes at least three years in prison for the new espionage offense, but is already facing calls for tougher punishment and clearer provisions as technology theft increasingly threatens both South Korea’s industrial competitiveness and national security.South Korea has made the biggest change in more than seven decades to the anti-espionage provisions of its criminal code, potentially widening the legal arsenal against theft of trade secrets and advanced technologies as the country confronts growing risks involving semiconductors, artificial intelligence and other strategic industries....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
- Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
- Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
- Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
- Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline
Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.