Litigation case on violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act | Assisting a client who was charged with a violation of the Act and obtaining a suspended sentence

The client, who was in a difficult situation after being subject to a criminal complaint for Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, came to Daeryun to defend against the litigation.

The client had worked for a long period at company J in the past, then left the company and moved to L Construction.

After changing jobs, the client, at the request of a colleague with whom the client had worked for a long time at the former workplace, sent materials such as technical drawings and bidding documents by email.

This conduct became an issue, and L Construction argued that the client had leaked important trade secrets to an outside party, going so far as to file a criminal complaint on the charge of Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act.

Accordingly, the client visited Daeryun in order to defend against the case with the assistance of an attorney with extensive experience in litigation concerning Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act.

Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act

■ Article 18 (Penal Provisions)

(1) A person who, while knowing that a trade secret will be used in a foreign country or is intended to be used in a foreign country, commits any of the acts falling under any of the following items shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than 15 years or a fine not exceeding 1.5 billion won.

However, where a fine is imposed, if the amount equivalent to ten times the financial gain resulting from the violation exceeds 1.5 billion won, the person shall be punished by a fine of not less than twice and not more than ten times the financial gain.

1. Any of the following acts committed for the purpose of obtaining a wrongful gain or causing damage to the holder of the trade secret

(a) Acquiring or using a trade secret, or disclosing it to a third party

(b) Removing a trade secret from a designated location without authorization

(c) Continuing to retain a trade secret despite being requested by the holder of the trade secret to delete or return it

(2) A person who commits any of the acts falling under any of the items of paragraph (1) shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than 10 years or a fine not exceeding 500 million won.

However, where a fine is imposed, if the amount equivalent to ten times the financial gain resulting from the violation exceeds 500 million won, the person shall be punished by a fine of not less than twice and not more than ten times the financial gain.

The client, who was subject to a criminal complaint on the charge of Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, had never received money or goods or been promised any consideration in connection with the conduct related to the case.

The former colleague who received the materials from the client did not use the materials, on the ground that they did not suit the colleague's own project, and immediately deleted them.

Contrary to L Construction's argument, the materials that the client sent by email to the former colleague were materials of no significant value.

In order to defend against the litigation for Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, Daeryun's attorney emphasized that L Construction had not suffered any substantial harm as a result of the client.

In order to defend against the litigation for Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, Daeryun argued that L Construction was exaggerating the extent of its harm.

L Construction had conducted regular audits in relation to employees' sending and receiving of email, and the client was also fully aware of this fact.

The fact that the client sent the document through the company email without concealment was because the client considered the level of the material to be low and not important confidential material of the company.

Daeryun's attorney argued that the client had not leaked confidential material with any malicious intent toward L Construction.

The client, who was subject to a criminal complaint from the employer where the client was working for Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, sought Daeryun's assistance in defending against the litigation.

Accordingly, Daeryun formed a case team of attorneys with extensive experience in litigation concerning Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act and assisted with the overall proceedings.

As a result, the court accepted Daeryun's arguments, and the client received a suspended sentence.

If you need to defend against litigation for a Violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act as in the case above, we strongly recommend that you 🔗consult with an attorney at Daeryun LLC.