Former Toptec employees sentenced to prison for trade secrets leak

Industry

Published: 30 Nov. 2023, 18:36 Updated: 30 Nov. 2023, 18:55

Former Toptec employees sentenced to prison for trade secrets leak

The Cheonan Branch of Daejeon District Court [SHIN JIN-HO]

The Daejeon District Court sentenced a former employee at Toptec, a subcontractor of Samsung Display, to three years in prison for leaking trade secrets to China.

The defendant, who was Toptec's head of the sales department, was found guilty of violating the Unfair Competition Protection Act and laws concerning trade secrets theft.

Four other former and current Toptec employees who were indicted for the same charges, as well as three people who worked as intermediaries, each received prison sentences between one to two and a half years.

The accused worked at display panel equipment company Toptec when they leaked Samsung Display's three-dimensional (3D) lamination technology. They were charged for disclosing trade secrets in January 2019.

The 3D lamination technology is considered key in producing the edge panel which is flexible and can be used for the curved edges of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy smartphone series.

“The defendants all actively and intentionally participated in committing crime for their own interests, and have leaked technology which was researched and developed through the investment of enormous amounts of time and funds,” said Jeon Jin-woo, the presiding judge over the court. “This act not only made the victims’ efforts obsolete, it could also hugely damage the nation’s industrial competitiveness,” he said.

“The [defendants] have not made any attempts to recover damages nor have they reflected on their actions, and the victims demand punishment,” he said, adding that “the sentence was determined with consideration of the fact that actual sales or manufacturing of the facilities were not made.”

BY HYEON YE-SEUL [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]