The Seoul High Court upheld a three-year prison sentence for Ahn Seung-ho, the former vice president of Samsung Electronics. The court rejected appeals from both the defense and the prosecution, revoked his bail, and ordered his immediate detention. Ahn previously led Samsung's Intellectual Property Center before leaving in 2019 to establish the patent management firm Synergy IP.
In 2021, Synergy IP and the US audio equipment manufacturer Tekiya filed a lawsuit against Samsung, alleging patent infringement. During the proceedings, Ahn utilized an internal Samsung document titled 'Tekiya Status Report,' which contained patent analysis and defense strategies. The court ruled this document constituted a trade secret with independent economic value, intended to provide an unfair advantage in litigation.
The court determined that Ahn knowingly acquired and used documents obtained through vulnerabilities in Samsung's access systems. Two other individuals involved in the case also received harsher sentences. A former Samsung IP Center employee was sentenced to three years in prison, while a former executive at Samsung Display received a four-year term. Both had their bail revoked by the court.
Previously, a US court dismissed the patent lawsuit against Samsung after concluding that confidential internal information had been improperly used. Following this ruling, Synergy IP withdrew its appeal after reaching a settlement agreement with Samsung.
