On 30 May, South Korea’s Supreme Court sent shockwaves through the academic community. It upheld a decision sentencing a prominent academic to two years in prison for sharing data of national importance with overseas researchers.
While working at a leading university in South Korea, the academic, known as Professor Lee, had been collaborating with Chinese researchers as part of China’s Thousand Talents Plan (TTP), a government programme to recruit overseas experts.
The technology Lee worked on — a remote-sensing system for autonomous vehicles - is designated as a ‘national core technology’ by the South Korean government. The court ruled that Lee had violated the South Korean Industrial Technology Protection Act by sharing national core technology, and had leaked trade secrets by sharing university-owned research data without consent or approval.
Many scientists might find themselves collaborating with overseas partners without understanding the legal implications of doing so. What steps should researchers take?
First, universities need clear, explicit agreements for each international collaboration, specifying what data can be shared, with whom and how.
Second, researchers must undergo mandatory training on data security, export controls and intellectual property before embarking on international projects.
Third, research leaders must create a culture of responsibility. This requires normalizing practices such as labelling sensitive files, limiting access to data on a need-to-know basis and exposing risky behaviours. Researchers must be transparent with their institutions about involvement with overseas programmes and seek guidance early and often.
Fourth, governments need to clarify what counts as a national core technology in research settings.
