A Coupang Play employee is under suspicion of leaking trade secrets related to sports content from Naver, the country's largest portal site, and has been referred to the prosecution.
The Anti-Terrorism Investigation Team of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency announced on the 25th that they have transferred an individual associated with Coupang Play, identified as A, to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on charges of violating laws on unfair competition and protection of trade secrets.
A is suspected of leaking confidential materials related to sports content partnerships and contracts without authorization during the process of transferring from Naver to Coupang Play in December 2023. These materials have been deemed trade secrets due to their non-public nature and economic value.
Naver identified suspicious circumstances during its internal audit around A's resignation and filed a complaint with the police in March of last year. The police conducted a search of A's residence and forensic analysis in December of the same year.
Investigations confirmed that A possessed Naver's materials personally, but there was no indication that these were actually conveyed to or exploited by Coupang Play. A police official noted, "It has been determined that there is no actual damage caused by the crime in this case," adding, "Due to the nature of the case, we cannot provide detailed information."
Coupang Play is currently focusing on strengthening its sports content by securing broadcasting rights for the domestic K League as well as major European football leagues. Meanwhile, Naver continues to broadcast popular domestic sports including baseball and football, competing with Coupang in the online video service (OTT) market.