[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Hyundai AutoEver, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, was fined 20 million won along with a correction order from the Fair Trade Commission for violating the subcontracting law, including unfairly obtaining technical data from system development subcontractors. This is the first time that technical data requirements have been sanctioned in the field of system development.

According to the FTC on the 1st, Hyundai AutoEver demanded technical data from supplier A, which was in charge of hardware and firmware during the smart tag system project supplied to Hyundai Motor since 2016. Hyundai Autoever stopped trading with A company after obtaining technical data such as communication protocols from A company.

Hyundai Autoever claimed that the technical data provided by Company A was the object of the project contract and that the act of requesting it was not a violation of the law. However, there was no provision in the contract to determine that the technical data was the object.

The FTC saw that Hyundai Autoever unfairly demanded data that is not directly related to the project. Under the Act on the Fairness of Subcontracting, the original contractor should not require the contractor to provide technical data to himself/herself or a third party. If the original business operator proves a justifiable reason, he/she may request technical data. Judging that Hyundai Autoever failed to prove a legitimate reason, the FTC decided to issue a correction order and impose a fine of 20 million won for violating the subcontracting law.

An FTC official said, "This is the first time that we have detected and sanctioned the act of requesting technical data in the field of system development, and we will continue to monitor violations of the law, such as violation of procedures to protect technical data for small and medium-sized companies and misappropriation of technical data."

 

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