GM beefs up security for designs after leaks

By Kim Tae-gyu

GM Korea, the subsidiary of General Motors here, had the design of a new car leaked on the Internet last month. The case is currently under police investigation.

The Incheon-based company said Tuesday that shots of its new vehicle were disclosed on an Internet site of a domestic automotive shopping mall late May.

One showed the exterior of the compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) while another displayed the interior of the model, which is expected to hit the market in a couple of years.

``It is a model, which is being developed in our head office in Incheon. We recently asked the police to get to the bottom of the incident,’’ a GM Korea spokesman said.

``We are not sure where the pictures were taken. It might be in the research center, in the factory or during test driving. We hope that the police will find those who are responsible.’’

Exteriors of up-and-coming vehicles are sometimes exposed to the public as they are caught during test drives on public roads. But it is quite rare that photos of their interiors are shown, experts pointed out.

In the case of GM Korea, its audio and dashboard were revealed so that any Internet users can have a look at the control panel as seen by the driver.

``We are very upset that the instrument panel and audio designs were publicized well ahead of its debut. We are concerned that the new model’s sales might be negatively affected when they hit the market since it is going to look like nothing new,’’ the spokesman said. ``The vehicle at issue has been independently developed by GM Korea.’’

He refused to specify on other details including when the vehicle is supposed to come to the market and what its price range or target buyers would be. But it is believed to be a small-sized SUV that will be launched in 2013.

Prof. Kim Pil-soo at Daelim College came up with similar worries.

``Automakers tend to deliberately disclose new models just before its debut so as to pique the curiosity of motorists. However, GM Korea’s incident seems to be different since its release is expected to take quite a long time,’’ Kim said.

``In particular, they normally don’t expose the interior just to draw attraction. So, I think somebody leaked the pictures without the knowledge of GM Korea. Given the firm is introducing new concepts on the dashboard, it must be concerned that rival companies are going to pick up on the ideas.’’

Other watchers pointed out that the time to market would tell much.

``Should GM Korea introduce the vehicle in question in the near future, the latest case might be regarded as clever marketing whether or not its management is directly involved,’’ a Seoul analyst said.

``If the model is marketed quite late, such as in 2013 as reported by some media, chances are that somebody was on a mission to bring damage to the company.’’

Officers who are in charge of the ongoing investigation were not available for comment. But they reportedly said that anyone who leaked the designs might be subject to criminal charges.