SEJONG -- South Korea's customs agency said Wednesday it has apprehended a group of five people who had exported an industrial product suspected of infringing a patent owned by the leading steelmaker Posco.

The Korea Customs Service said it has forwarded the suspects to prosecutors for shipping four units of "air knife," which were produced by allegedly stealing Posco's patented technology, to an undisclosed nation from 2020 to 2021.

An air knife is a device that sprays gas on aluminum or zinc-coated steel plates for a precise coating process. It is considered crucial for the quality of coated steel plates, with Posco investing more than 5 billion won ($3.8 million) in the technology.

They have been nabbed while seeking to export an additional three, valued at 2.3 billion won or more, by the Incheon Regional Customs, according to the customs agency,

The main culprit had worked at a subcontractor of Posco before leaving the firm to establish a separate company.

"If the three air knives reached their intended destinations, overseas steelmakers would have raised an unlawful profit of up to 660 billion won over five years," the agency said. (Yonhap)