[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Incheon, July 13, 2025 — A former employee of Samsung Biologics has been sentenced to three years in prison for the unauthorized removal and attempted leak of sensitive internal materials, including national core technologies in the field of biotechnology.



According to the biotechnology industry on July 13, Judge Hong Joon-seo of the Incheon District Court delivered the ruling on July 11, convicting the former employee (referred to as Mr. A) for violations of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and the Act on the Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology.



“The sheer volume of stolen documents, including technologies designated as national core intellectual property, necessitates a custodial sentence,” the judge stated.



Mr. A was caught on December 13, 2022, attempting to smuggle out around 300 printed documents hidden under his clothes from Samsung Biologics’ headquarters in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Security personnel intercepted him on site, and he was arrested on the spot.



Subsequent investigation revealed that over the course of 10 days earlier that month, Mr. A had illegally copied and exported more than 3,700 pages comprising 175 classified trade secrets.



Among the leaked materials were two items classified as national core technologies:



IT Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for mass pharmaceutical manufacturing



Internal analysis reports on regulatory guidelines, containing proprietary knowledge critical to Samsung Biologics’ cell culture and purification process optimization



Samsung Biologics stated that these materials represent over a decade of accumulated expertise and are core to its competitive advantage.



This is not the first time the company has dealt with trade secret breaches. In a separate ongoing case, a former employee who moved to Lotte Biologics in 2022 has been indicted (without detention) for leaking SOPs and other sensitive documents.

 

 

 

 

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