DB Insurance has entered into a formal agreement with the Innobiz Association and the Foundation for Small and Medium Enterprises and Agriculture-Fishery Cooperation to distribute a state-backed insurance program that covers legal costs when small and medium-sized enterprises become entangled in technology-related disputes. The three organizations signed the memorandum of understanding on May 8 at the DB Financial Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Roughly 10 representatives from each party attended the ceremony, among them Choi Hyukseung, head of division at DB Insurance; Kim Hongseok, executive director of the Innobiz Association; and Bae Changwoo, director of the Foundation for Win-Win Cooperation.
According to The Asia Business Daily’s report, the SME Technology Dispute Litigation Insurance, which falls under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, reimburses covered companies for out-of-pocket legal costs – attorney fees, patent attorney fees, and related expenses – when disputes arise over proprietary technology. Premium subsidies differ depending on where the dispute occurs. For cases handled domestically, the government covers 70% to 80% of the premium. For cross-border disputes, the subsidy reaches 80%. Policy limits are set at 50 million won per domestic claim and 100 million won for overseas matters. Companies seeking enrolment can apply through the Foundation for Small and Medium Enterprises and Agriculture-Fishery Cooperation’s website or via the SME Technology Protection Fence portal, which the Ministry of SMEs and Startups operates.
Choi tied the agreement directly to concerns over technology theft among Innobiz-certified firms. “This business agreement will serve as a strong umbrella for Innobiz companies, helping them operate their businesses stably and escape the threat of technology theft,” he said, as reported by The Asia Business Daily. He added that the insurer intends to maintain the relationship beyond the signing: “Going forward, DB Insurance will continue to take the lead in establishing a support system for protecting Innobiz company technologies by cooperating in various ways with the Foundation for Win-Win Cooperation and the Innobiz Association.” The three-party structure is intended to use the existing membership networks of the Innobiz Association and the Foundation for Win-Win Cooperation to reach companies that carry technology risk but have not secured litigation coverage.
Data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources puts the current scale of Korea’s mid-tier business sector in perspective. Its 2024 Basic Statistics on Middle Market Enterprises – nationally approved figures compiled annually since 2015 – showed 6,474 middle market enterprises operating as of 2024, a net increase of 606 companies, or 10.3%, over 2023. Turnover in the category was considerable. During the year, 1,275 companies entered the middle market tier after outgrowing SME status or through new incorporation, while 669 departed – either by scaling into large enterprise classification, falling back into SME territory, or shutting down altogether.
Across the sector, total sales reached 1,030.5 trillion won in 2024, up 46.2 trillion won, or 4.7%, year-on-year. Manufacturing sales rose 2.5%, while the non-manufacturing side grew at a faster pace of 6.9%. Within manufacturing, electrical equipment, bio-health, and food and beverages recorded the steepest gains. In non-manufacturing, transportation and information and communications led the way. Operating profit came in at 50.3 trillion won, up 5.9%, and total assets held by the segment reached 1,322.6 trillion won, an increase of 7.8% from the year prior.
The investment figures are where the data becomes most relevant to the insurance sector. Middle market enterprises collectively invested 36.4 trillion won in 2024, a 17.1% increase from 2023. Within that total, R&D spending climbed 35.2% to 13.0 trillion won – by far the fastest-growing investment category. Facility investment, at 23.4 trillion won, rose 8.9%. The ministry noted that the pace of R&D growth reflects a sector-wide push toward technology development – activity that, in practice, also generates intellectual property that companies may eventually need to defend in court.
For insurers and brokers focused on commercial lines, this trend is material. As more mid-market and SME-category firms commit capital to proprietary technology, the probability of intellectual property disputes – domestic and cross-border – rises accordingly. Products like the SME Technology Dispute Litigation Insurance are structured to absorb a portion of those legal costs, with the government subsidy functioning as an accessibility mechanism for smaller companies that might otherwise find standalone litigation coverage prohibitively priced.
The sector also reported that 39.3% of middle market enterprises had adopted ESG management frameworks by 2024, up 5.2 percentage points from the year before. New business activity was concentrated in environmentally friendly industries at 25.7%, advanced bio industries at 23.9%, and renewable energy at 13.9% – all sectors with evolving regulatory and intellectual property landscapes that carry their own litigation exposure.
