According to a ruling that was reviewed by the.

According to the ruling, on Tuesday, the Masan Branch Changwon District Court sent to prison the chief executive officer of a South Korean contractor for two and a quarter years and sentenced two employees from another firm to one and a quarter years.

The ruling did not mention the names of the defendants or the companies involved but did list their lawyers who declined to comment.

The ruling stated that the defendants, who were hired to build torpedo launching tubes and storage containers for Taiwan's sub project, were accused by the court of leaking highly-classified information about designs to Taiwan.

The court stated that the case could become a "major burden" on South Korea's diplomatic relations.

The ruling stated that "This crime could pose a significant threat to South Korea’s security as strategic technology has been exported without approval from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the export partner was?Taiwan which has a tense relation with its neighbours in East Asia."

DAPA is South Korea’s national arm-sales regulator.

South Korea is like many other countries in that it only has formal diplomatic relations with Beijing and not Taipei. China considers the island to be its territory. Taipei rejects this view.

The ruling stated that the defendants denied any wrongdoing, and argued the information they shared with Taiwan was not sensitive technology or business secrets requiring export permits.

Taiwan's Defence Ministry referred all questions about the case to CSBC - the Taiwanese shipbuilder leading the construction of submarines. CSBC didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Taiwan wants to build eight subs but the program has faced delays. The prototype's first?sea test took place in June.

Taiwan's government made military modernisation its key policy platform. It has also repeatedly committed to spending more on defence, given the rising threat of China. This includes developing home-grown submarines.

Taiwan will increase its defence spending by a fifth in the next year. This is more than 3% of GDP. It invests in new equipment so that it can better compete with China and to convince the United States. It is serious about building its military.

Reports from 2023 stated that South Korean officials, citing a risk of Chinese economic reprisal, had accused a third Korean contractor, for his work on Taiwan’s submarine project, for violating trade law. The conviction of that contractor has been reversed. Reporting by Ju-min Park, Taipei; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ed Davies, Thomas Derpinghaus

(source: Reuters)