"Former Samsung employee accused of leaking trade secrets for $1 million says it was not a leak"

[Financial News] A former Samsung Electronics employee who was indicted for leaking internal confidential information and receiving $1 million (about 1 billion won) has denied the charges in court.
On the 6th, at a hearing held before the 10th single-judge criminal division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Lee Jae-uk, the defense for former Samsung Electronics employee Mr. Kwon denied the charges of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, bribery in breach of duty, and occupational breach of trust.
However, Kwon’s side did admit to some of the allegations. His attorney stated, "Some of the alleged contacts were made in the course of his work, and what was sent were technical analysis materials, so our position is that this does not constitute disclosure of trade secrets." When the court asked whether the remaining parts of the indictment were admitted, the attorney replied, "Yes."
The defense for Mr. Lim, the CEO of patent management firm (NPE) Ideahub, who was indicted alongside Kwon for receiving Samsung Electronics’ business secrets from him, said, "We largely acknowledge the factual background in the indictment, but we differ in our legal assessment of the internal Samsung Electronics documents received from Kwon and the $1 million paid to him," while arguing for acquittal. The attorney continued, "The materials our client company provided to Samsung Electronics formed the basis for Samsung Electronics’ own summary explanation and valuation," adding, "We deeply regret having received internal documents, but this is not a serious case of technology leakage by Samsung Electronics."
The court will proceed with the trial on the 15th of next month to hear testimony from Samsung Electronics employees and others as witnesses.
In July 2022, Kwon allegedly received Wi-Fi patent-related technical analysis materials by email from an employee at the Intellectual Property Rights Center, printed them out, and then showed the materials to Lim at a bar in the Gangnam District in exchange for $1 million. Prosecutors believe that, based on the materials obtained from Kwon, Ideahub was able to gain an advantageous position and subsequently conclude a patent contract worth about $30 million with Samsung Electronics.
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter