By RANDALL CHASE
AP Business Writer

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- A federal jury awarded $919.9 million in damages to the DuPont Co. on Wednesday in a trade-secrets lawsuit involving high-strength synthetic fibers used in products such as Kevlar body armor.

The ruling was handed down by a jury in Richmond, Va., following a trial that pitted Delaware-based DuPont against South Korean competitor Kolon Industries. The jury found that Kolon had maliciously and willfully misappropriated 149 DuPont trade secrets related to the technology, known as aramid fibers.

DuPont Senior Vice President and General Counsel Tom Sager said Kolon's actions represented perhaps the most egregious case of trade-secrets theft he had seen in his more than 30 years at DuPont.