Kolmar Korea has won a lawsuit against Intercos’ local office in Korea. The lawsuit accused Intercos Korea and its two former employees of stealing trade secrets related to Kolmar’s sun care products. The court ruled in favor of Kolmar Korea and ordered Intercos Korea and the former employees to discard the stolen information and pay 200 million won ($150,334) in damages to Kolmar Korea.
The trade secret theft occurred when a former Kolmar Korea employee moved to Intercos Korea in 2018. The employee had worked at Kolmar Korea for over nine years before retiring and joining Intercos Korea. It was discovered that the employee had stolen hundreds of computer files using Google Drive and shared them with Intercos Korea. Another former Kolmar employee who worked at the company from 2007 to 2012 also stole trade secrets and joined Intercos Korea.
Intercos Korea, which had not previously produced sun care products, suddenly started manufacturing them in 2018. The company received approvals for 44 sun care products from the Drug Ministry and generated 46 billion won in annual sales.
Kolmar Korea sees the court’s ruling as a warning against unethical trade secret theft by international companies. The company has invested significant resources in developing its sun care product technologies and will continue taking legal action to protect them.
In a separate criminal case, a local court had already found Intercos Korea and the two former employees guilty of trade secret theft. The court sentenced one employee to 10 months in jail and the other to six months with a suspended sentence of two years. Intercos Korea was also fined 10 million won.
These legal actions highlight the importance of protecting trade secrets and the consequences for those who engage in their theft.
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