[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] A former employee of Samsung Biologics was found guilty at a first trial for illegally leaking trade secrets, after unlawfully removing confidential internal materials and later joining a rival firm, Lotte Biologics.

On the 26th, Judge Wi Eun-sook of the Incheon District Court sentenced the defendant, identified only as A (42), to two years in prison, suspended for four years, on charges of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act and breach of trust.

In explaining the sentence, the court said the materials taken constituted trade secrets and that the defendant had already decided to move to Lotte Biologics at the time of the offense, thereby undermining Samsung Biologics’ trust.

Samsung Biologics filed a criminal complaint in August 2022 against A, who was among employees who left the company for Lotte Biologics. According to the company, A transferred 57 items of confidential information—including IT standard operating procedures (SOPs)—to a personal home computer without authorization.

A key issue at trial was whether the SOPs qualified as trade secrets. The court ruled that the materials were not publicly known and possessed independent economic value, concluding that they clearly met the legal criteria for trade secret protection and returning a guilty verdict.

 

 

[ⓒ 알파경제. 무단전재-재배포 금지]