The Supreme Court confirmed a fine of 60 million won against the Taiwanese corporation Everlight Electronics for stealing trade secrets from Seoul Semiconductor, the leading light-emitting diode (LED) company in Korea.
The Supreme Court's second division (Chief Justice Eom Sang-pil) stated on the 7th that it upheld the second ruling, which sentenced Everlight to a fine of 60 million won for violations of the Industrial Technology Leakage Prevention Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.
Earlier, three former employees of Seoul Semiconductor were indicted in 2018 for stealing automotive LED technology to Everlight. They moved to Everlight in 2016. It was reported that they accessed the company system before their departure and took pictures of the trade secrets with their mobile phones to leak them. They each received suspended prison sentences in 2020.
The prosecution indicted the three individuals and subsequently charged the corporation Everlight with the same allegations. This was delayed due to legal reviews over whether South Korean courts had jurisdiction to try the Taiwanese company. This became an issue during the trial as well.
Both the first and second trial courts recognized the allegations of Everlight leaking trade secrets. They also ruled that the acts of the employees occurred within Korea, thus affirming the jurisdiction of South Korean courts.
The Supreme Court also believed the rulings from the first and second trials were correct.