Police have apprehended 31 people on charges of industrial technology leaks abroad between January and April, an 81 percent jump from 17 caught during the same period of last year, an opposition lawmaker said Thursday.

In one such case, a manager working at a Chinese factory of a domestic organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel maker was arrested for allegedly handing over product blueprints to a Chinese competitor in an attempt to move to the rival firm, according to Rep. Kim Soo-heung of the Democratic Party.

Another case involved a group of 13 people apprehended on charges of exporting strategic materials without government permission and leaking the blueprints of two core components to a foreign company. Their criminal proceeds worth 60.6 billion (US$45.9 million) won have been forfeited.

In February, the National Police Agency launched a nine-month special crackdown on industrial technology leaks after forming a special task force dealing exclusively with such crimes in December.

"Unless we prevent leaks of industrial technologies in an era where technology is the economy and security, we cannot guarantee not only industrial competitiveness but also national security," Kim said, calling for tougher punishment.

Source: Yonhap News Agency