An employee who leaked key trade secrets while moving from Samsung Biologics to Lotte Biologics received a suspended prison sentence.
On the 26th, Judge Wi Eun-suk of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 15, in a sentencing hearing, gave a Lotte Biologics employee, A, 42, who was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act and breach of trust in the course of duty, two years in prison, suspended for four years.
The court said, "The materials managed as trade secrets were leaked, and the timing of the crime was after deciding to move to Lotte Biologics," adding, "The trust of the victim company was seriously undermined, and the nature of the crime is not light."
However, on the charge of violating the Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology, the court found A not guilty, determining that the leaked materials did not constitute national core technology.
In June 2022, A was indicted without detention on charges of leaking 57 items, including IT standard operating procedures (SOP), which are company trade secret materials, while moving from Samsung Biologics to Lotte Biologics.
In October of the same year, prosecutors raided Lotte Biologics' headquarters and A's residence to secure related materials, and in March 2023 indicted A without detention. The trial then proceeded for about three years.
A acknowledged the fact of the leak but has argued that the materials were merely general in nature and did not constitute trade secrets. The court, however, recognized their nature as trade secrets, saying, "The materials are not publicly known and have independent economic value."
The IT SOP that A leaked without authorization is a core operating guideline for the stable mass production of high-quality pharmaceuticals. It is evaluated as material that directly relates to process standardization and securing quality consistency, affecting productivity, quality, stability, and expense overall. In the contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) industry, SOPs are regarded as an asset directly tied to corporations' credibility. In the industry, there have been continued concerns that the leak of related materials is a serious crime that undermines corporate competitiveness and disrupts fair order in the market.
Regarding the ruling, a Samsung Biologics official said, "We are doing our best to protect the company's core technology and information assets," adding, "We will respond strictly to any attempt at leakage in accordance with the law and principles."
Courts have recently been increasing the level of punishment for crimes involving the theft of advanced industry technologies. In July last year, a case of leaking semiconductor technology to China drew a six-year prison term and a fine of 2 billion won, and a former executive who siphoned off patent trade secrets also received a three-year prison term. In the pharmaceutical and biotech sector, during the same month, a former Samsung Biologics employee was sentenced to three years in prison for leaking national core technology.
Legislation is also strengthening. With the July 2025 amendment to the Industrial Technology Protection Act, the maximum fine for technology leaks was raised to 6.5 billion won, and a bill to increase the sentence for leaking national advanced strategic technology to at least seven years in prison or a fine of up to 10 billion won has been introduced in the National Assembly.