The five-month technology theft dispute between Algocare and Lotte over a nutrient dispenser product has reached an agreement, with Lotte Healthcare withdrawing the launch of the product.

On Wednesday, the National Assembly held a meeting on the Prevention and Recovery Support for Start-up Technology Theft to discuss raising the upper limit of the punitive damages system from three times to five times to prevent venture and start-up technology theft by large companies.

The meeting was held to directly listen to the voices of affected start-ups and discuss relevant measures by the government and the ruling party regarding technology theft disputes between start-ups and large companies.

In particular, the result of the five-month dispute between Lotte Healthcare and Algocare was revealed.

"We decided not to launch the dispenser because we believe it is most important to end the controversy that has spread recently and deliver a message of shared growth to the industry," said a spokesperson from Lotte Healthcare. “We tried to launch the product to increase user convenience of taking general supplements but, regrettably, we could not.”

Algocare CEO Joung Ji-won also said, “We have agreed to put an end to the dispute and to jointly deposit a fund to revitalize the start-up ecosystem.”

In January, Joung filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office to investigate the alleged technology theft after confirming that Lotte Healthcare had copied its products at the CES exhibition in the United States.

Since late January, Han has been personally mediating discussions between Lotte Healthcare CEO Lee Hoon-ki and Algocare CEO Joung Ji-won. The lawmaker focused on convincing the two companies that slander is not helpful to the development of the digital healthcare industry.

"It's important to build trust through dialogue, not just listen to one side of the political spectrum," said Han Moo-kyung, a member of the National Assembly's Committee on Trade, Industry, and Energy, SMEs and Start-ups who has been mediating the dispute between the companies.

"Most of the disputes between large companies and start-ups are triggered by mistrust, even when they are discussing collaboration in the early stages of business," said Han.

Through win-win cooperation, start-ups can promote stable growth and large companies can improve their corporate image, and both parties win, she emphasized.

However, despite the settlement agreement between the two companies, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office will continue to investigate the dispute that was filed in January.

"We will continue to prove that we did not steal the start-up's trade secrets based on the evidence we have and wait for the final judgment of the government agencies," said an official from Lotte Healthcare in its defense.