Kolon Industries CEO
Bae Young-ho |
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Kolon Industries fended off Wednesday a trade secret lawsuit filed by leading American chemical firm DuPont, claiming that its business has not breached any law to step into the lucrative para-aramid fiber market.
DuPont filed a suit with a U.S. federal court Tuesday, accusing the Korean firm of stealing trade secrets and confidential information related to its high-strength fiber technology used to make bullet-proof and flame-resistant clothing.
Kolon belatedly joined the competitive global para-aramid fiber market, which has been led by Dupont's Kevlar and Japanese firm Teijin's Twaron products, in 2006.
``Kolon was not involved in illegal activities to expand its business. We need more information from DuPont and to see a copy of the complaint to understand exactly what they are suing us for,'' said Lim Chu-seup, Kolon's chief communications officer.
He said the press release issued by the U.S. firm does not provide enough information to elaborate on the situation.
The third-largest U.S. chemical maker said in a statement that it filed a civil lawsuit against Kolon Industries, a flagship company of Kolon Group, for theft of trade secrets regarding its Kevlar brand aramid fiber.
The technology known to make tougher-than-steel fibers is used to make protecting clothing for police and the military.
``DuPont's policies and processes are designed to protect our technologies. We will aggressively pursue anyone who tries to steal our intellectual property,'' DuPont Senior Vice President and General Counsel Thomas L. Sager said in the statement.
Kolon's Korea and U.S units ``have engaged in concerted and persistent actions to wrongfully obtain DuPont's trade secrets'' and have ``hired and attempted to hire former DuPont's employees'' for that purpose, according to a copy of the complaint acquired by Bloomberg.
It said that the firm based in Gyeonggi Province interfered with DuPont's business by hiring a former DuPont engineer and sales representative who ``retained certain highly confidential information on his home computer.''
Lim of Kolon declined to comment on the specific accusation, adding that Kolon will ``closely watch how the legal proceedings develop.''
Dupont said it will file a lawsuit in Canada and is considering similar actions in other countries, as it plans to pursue ``all available legal remedies regarding this issue, including damages and injunctive relief.''
Kolon is South Korea's 40th-largest conglomerate in terms of assets.
jhan@koreatimes.co.kr
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