Samsung Biologics Union Leaders Referred Over 'Trade Secret Leak' Allegations

Distributed details of advertising placements by media outlet

The leadership of the Sangsaeng Labor Union at Samsung Biologics, which has been in conflict with management over wages and benefits, has been referred to the Prosecution Office on suspicion of leaking the company’s trade secrets to outside parties.

On the 6th, the Sangsaeng Labor Union is staging its second partial strike at Samsung Biologics' headquarters in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. The Samsung Bio union.

According to industry sources on November 13, the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency referred two people, including Park Jaeseong, head of the Samsung Biologics union, to the Prosecution Office on suspicion of leaking trade secrets in violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and occupational breach of trust.

They are suspected of accessing Samsung Biologics’ internal system and distributing, in the union’s newsletter on its labor struggle, details of advertising placements by media outlet that had been submitted to the company’s public relations department. Park’s name was reportedly listed as the author in the document properties of the file.

In May, police searched Samsung Biologics’ headquarters and secured records of system access and company entry from internal servers and document storage facilities. After further investigation, they determined that the allegations were substantiated.

In a statement on November 13, the union said, “What the labor union questioned was the necessity and appropriateness of spending on public relations, which is unrelated to the company’s core business. Based on tax invoices that ordinary employees could also access through the internal system, we merely asked whether unnecessary expenses were being incurred and criticized the spending. We did not distribute the materials outside the company to the media, competitors or any other parties.”

The Samsung Biologics union has been staging its second partial strike since November 6. The union plans to continue the strike for about three weeks, through November 27, and is scheduled to meet with management on November 17 to resume negotiations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.