KB News Desk
LS considers lawsuit against industrial espionage
Taihan Cable & Solution (C&S) faced a police investigation for alleged theft of LS Cable & System’s (C&S) technologies to produce high-voltage submarine cables, according to industry officials, Friday.
The police recently raided Taihan C&S’ factory in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, and Gaun Architects & Engineers in Seoul, which designed the factory. This came as Gaun is suspected of having leaked technologies it obtained from LS C&S while designing its factories between 2008 and 2023.
LS C&S said it will take legal action if the allegations turn out to be true. The company is one of the world’s six manufacturers of extra-high-voltage submarine cables, along with five other firms in Europe and Japan.
“If the industrial espionage is true, we will suffer irrevocable damage,” LS C&S said in a statement. “If the information about our 500-kilovolt high-voltage direct current submarine cable is leaked to other countries, it will have a negative impact on national security and the economy.”
Earlier this month, Taihan C&S began operating its No. 1 submarine cable factory in Dangjin after completing phase 1 of the plant’s construction. Police are reportedly investigating whether LS C&S’ technologies were utilized in the construction and operation of the factory.
LS C&S noted a potential technology leak when a single architecture firm oversees the design of factories for competing cable manufacturers. The company emphasized the seriousness with which it views Gaun’s contract with its competitor.
“For the architecture firm to design our submarine cable factory, we had to supply detailed information about our facilities,” LS C&S said. “The architecture firm knows all the history of our efforts to overcome difficulties and upgrade our factories to enhance efficiency.”
Taihan C&S said it is not a suspect in this case at the moment. It claimed that the recent police raid into its factory was intended to prove Gaun’s crimes.
“We chose the architecture firm through a competitive bid,” the company said in a statement. “The architecture firm did not handle the design of cable manufacturing equipment, as we tasked other domestic and foreign companies with producing and installing submarine cable manufacturing equipment in our No. 1 factory.”
Taihan C&S, the nation’s oldest cable maker, also emphasized its existing capabilities in manufacturing submarine cable equipment.
