A view of Seoul Semiconductor’s headquarters (Image courtesy of Seoul Semiconductor)
SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Supreme Court has upheld a conviction against Taiwan’s Everlight Electronics for stealing advanced light-emitting diode (LED) technology from Seoul Semiconductor, marking a landmark ruling in the protection of industrial technologies.
Seoul Semiconductor said Tuesday that the court recently confirmed earlier guilty verdicts under the nation’s Industrial Technology Protection Act, which extends beyond trade secrets to cover state-designated advanced technologies.
The ruling follows years of litigation after Everlight was accused of bribing three former Seoul Semiconductor employees to obtain proprietary know-how, including “No-wire” second-generation LED and ultraviolet LED technologies that the company developed over decades of research.
Lower courts had already found Everlight guilty of trade-secret infringement, but an appellate court broadened the charges, determining that the stolen technologies qualified as protected national industrial technologies.
The Supreme Court finalized that decision last week. Several former Seoul Semiconductor employees involved in the leak also received prison sentences.
Industry experts said the ruling carries broad implications, reinforcing that South Korea’s criminal jurisdiction can apply to overseas companies and that corporations, not just individuals, may be held liable under the nation’s dual-punishment provisions.
The case adds to Seoul Semiconductor’s long-running battle with Everlight. Over the past seven years, the Korean firm has filed 16 patent suits in five countries, prevailing in each, with courts issuing bans and recall orders against products found to infringe its patents.
Lee Jung-hoon, Seoul Semiconductor’s founder, welcomed the decision, saying intellectual property protection is vital to ensuring fair opportunity. “Birth is unequal, but opportunities must be fair,” he said.
“When intellectual property is respected, young people and companies gain hope, innovation flourishes, and lives improve. We will continue our research with the resolve to risk bold failures rather than settle for mere survival — and we will fight patent infringement with equal determination.”
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
