South Korea is moving to strengthen its protection of key national technologies by requiring all individuals and entities to register their possession of such technologies, the government said Tuesday.

A revision of the law on protection of industrial technologies to that end has recently been announced, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Under the proposed revision, the government also plans to impose a maximum fine of 10 million won ($8,958) on anyone who fails to register their possession of key national technologies, it said.

The move comes as the government is facing difficulties in preventing technology leaks due to its lack of information on who has access to key technologies.

“Once all organizations with access to key technologies are identified, the risk of technology leaks will be reduced significantly,” a ministry official said, asking not to be identified.

The revision will only deal with technologies that were developed by the government or public entities, but the government is also considering including civilian technologies in the future.

Currently, there are 58 technologies that have been named key national technologies, according to the ministry. They include designs for lithium-ion batteries for electric cars and technologies for AMOLED panels.

The revision may be enacted as early as in June following reviews by the Regulatory Reform Committee and the National Assembly, the ministry. (Yonhap News)