South Korean contractors on Taiwan submarines jailed for leaking documents

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SEOUL - A South Korean court found two contractors that worked on Taiwans submarine programme guilty of leaking designs for torpedo-launching systems, calling the case a potential diplomatic burden for Seoul, according to a ruling reviewed by Reuters.

On Dec 16, the Masan Branch ‍of ​the Changwon District Court sentenced the chief executive of one South Korean contractor ‍to two and a half years in jail and handed down jail terms of one and a half years to two employees of another firm, ​according to ​the ruling.

The ruling did not name the defendants and the companies involved, but it did name their lawyers, who declined to comment.

The defendants, who were hired to build torpedo-launching tubes and storage for Taiwans submarine project, were accused of leaking ‍highly classified information on designs to Taiwan, the ruling said.

The court said the case risked becoming a major diplomatic burden for South ​Korea.

This crime is a matter that could pose a ⁠significant threat to South Koreas security, as strategic technology was exported without the approval of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA),and the export partner is Taiwan, which has a tense relationship with neighbours in East Asia, the ruling said.

DAPA is South Koreas national arms-sales regulator.

South Korea, like most countries, only ​has formal diplomatic ties with Beijing, not Taipei. China views the island as its own territory, a position Taipeis government rejects.

The defendants denied wrongdoing ‌and argued that the information they shared with Taiwan did ​not involve business secrets or sensitive technology requiring export permits, the ruling said.

Taiwans defence ministry referred questions on the case to CSBC, the Taiwanese shipbuilder that is leading the construction