Taihan Cable employees referred to prosecutors over alleged LS Cable leak
LS Cable & System's cable plant in Donghae, Gangwon Province / Courtesy of LS Cable & System
Police have referred employees of Taihan Cable & Solution to prosecutors over allegations of leaking submarine cable technology from LS Cable & System, after a nearly three-year investigation.
The decision is widely seen as significant given that industrial technology leak cases typically require extensive digital forensics, technical analysis, witness questioning and legal review.
Industry officials said such cases — handled by the National Office of Investigation — are generally referred only after investigators comprehensively examine seized materials, testimony and technological links.
The latest referral itself is being interpreted as a major judgment by investigative authorities, rather than a preliminary stage, such as a search and seizure operation.
Particular attention has been drawn to the scope of those referred. Earlier reports largely centered on officials from architectural design firms involved in the construction of submarine cable plants.
However, sources said the latest referral list also includes personnel from companies that participated directly in manufacturing core production equipment for submarine cables, broadening perceptions of the case beyond a dispute over architectural blueprints.
One of the firms in question was said to be a subcontractor to a partner company responsible for producing key facilities at LS Cable’s submarine cable plant in Donghae, Gangwon Province.
The industry is especially focused on equipment, such as vertical laying up machines and turntables, both considered essential to submarine cable production.
Vertical laying up machines are critical facilities used in the insulation process for ultra-high-voltage submarine cables. Costing tens of billions of won, the massive installations are operated by only a limited number of global manufacturers due to the advanced expertise required.
Turntables are giant structures used to coil and store finished submarine cables. Because submarine cables can reach tens of centimeters in diameter and weigh thousands of tons when produced in long lengths, the processes of winding, storage and shipment are regarded as key determinants of product quality and operational stability.
Competitiveness in the submarine cable business cannot be explained solely by product blueprints. Production facility layouts, manufacturing processes, quality-control systems and accumulated operational know-how are all closely intertwined.
“The inclusion of equipment manufacturers in the referral suggests investigators looked beyond similarities in design drawings and examined how the technology may have been realized in actual production processes,” an industry official said.
The case comes as the economic value of submarine cable technology rises sharply amid rapid growth in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, ultra-high-voltage power grids and offshore wind power projects.
LS Cable recently secured overseas supply contracts worth 2.5 trillion won ($1.66 billion). Expanding AI infrastructures and power grid investment here and abroad have pushed the cable sector into what many describe as a “supercycle.”
Chances are potential civil litigation could lead to damages claims on a scale rarely seen in past industrial technology disputes, with compensation possibly reaching trillions of won depending on future court findings.