"The world is engaged in an economic war so we are trying hard to prevent technology outflows to make our country an economic superpower," says an NIS official.

随着不安全感的日益加剧，韩国国会已经立法规定，如果韩国公司要向海外转移核心技术，需要得到政府的许可，以防技术泄露。

Prodded by the increasing sense of insecurity, parliament has legislated to prevent technology leaks by requiring Korean companies to get government permission if they want to transfer core technologies overseas.

法律还规定，工业间谍将被判处高达7年的有期徒刑，或最高罚款75.5万美元。然而，对于强硬派议员而言，即便是这种惩罚也不足以保护韩国。

The law also provides for industrial spies to be sentenced to up to seven years' jail or fined up to $755,000. For hardline?legislators,?however, even this is not enough to protect South Korea.

由反对党--大国家党(Grand National party)的朴槿惠(Park Geun-hye)牵头，一些韩国议员最近提交了一项法律修正案，旨在阻止外国人收购拥有关键技术的韩国公司。

A group of lawmakers, led by Park Geun-hye of the opposition Grand National party, recently submitted a revised bill aimed at blocking foreigners from taking over domestic companies holding key technologies.

根据这项法案，如果并购交易或与外国公司建立的合资公司有可能导致本土公司的技术外泄，本土公司就必须向政府商务部门报告。如果政府认定可能的技术外流会对国家安全或经济造成危害，那么，它就可能暂停或否决这些交易。

Under the bill, local companies must report to the commerce ministry if their technology could be leaked through a merger or acquisition or through joint ventures with foreign companies. The government could then suspend or block such deals if the possible technology outflow was deemed harmful to national security or the economy.

如果国会通过这项修正案，外国投资者就几乎不可能对三星电子(Samsung Electronics)、海力士半导体公司(Hynix Semiconductor)、大宇造船和船舶工程公司(Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering)等知名制造商发起敌意收购。

The revised bill, if passed by the national assembly, would make it almost impossible for foreign investors to launch hostile bids for high-profile manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, Hynix Semiconductor or Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.

朴槿惠的顾问Lee Choon-sang表示："我们并不是要阻止外国投资。我们只是要保护拥有新技术的本国公司，因为在我们的前沿技术和管理战略方面，我们面临着来自不发达国家和发达国家日益加剧的挑战。"

"We don't mean to block foreign investment. We just want to protect our companies with new technologies, because we face growing challenges from under-developed countries as well as advanced ones, regarding our cutting-edge technology and management strategies," says Lee Choon-sang, an adviser to Ms Park.

预计这项法案将会引发外国投资者的强烈不满，有些外国投资者将其视为一种"保护主义"举措。驻首尔的欧盟商会(European Chamber of Commerce)秘书长让-雅克o格劳尔(Jean-Jacques Grauher)表示，这项法案会抑制外国对这个亚洲第三大经济体的投资。

The bill is expected to spark strong complaints from foreign investors, some of whom have dismissed it as a "protectionist" move. Jean-Jacques Grauher, secretary-general of the European Chamber of Commerce in Seoul, says the bill would damp foreign investment in Asia's third-largest economy.

他表示："对韩国而言，结果可能完全适得其反。工业间谍是一种犯罪行为，显然应该得到非常严厉的惩罚。但他们必须明确区分工业间谍与（合法）商业活动。"

"It could be very counterproductive for Korea. They have to make a clear distinction between industrial espionage, which is a crime and should be very heavily sanctioned obviously, and [legal] business practices," he says.