▲ Suwon District Court and Suwon High Court
An executive who arbitrarily deleted work-related files from a company-issued laptop that he was required to return after receiving a notice of dismissal has been sentenced to prison in the first trial.
According to legal circles today (September 5), the Suwon District Court sentenced an executive identified as A, who was indicted on charges including damaging electronic records, violating the Act on Prevention of Unfair Competition and Protection of Trade Secrets (leakage of trade secrets, etc.), and breach of trust in the course of duty, to six months in prison.
A served as an executive overseeing an Indonesian waste-derived solid fuel production plant construction project at the victimized company from March 2022 to February of the following year.
A was put on trial for arbitrarily deleting approximately 1,600 work-related files just before returning the laptop to the company after receiving a notice of dismissal in 2023.
During the trial, A claimed, "Ahead of leaving the company, I simply organized the folders and files I used one by one using Windows Explorer and had no intention of intentionally damaging them."
However, the court ruled, "Under the employment rules, all documents created within the scope of duties are company assets, and the intent to arbitrarily delete data without consulting the company upon being requested to return the laptop is recognized."
The court also found A guilty of stealing more than 60 files, including design drawings intended for submission to the client, by copying them onto a personal external hard drive before deleting a massive volume of files (unauthorized leakage of trade secrets).
Meanwhile, the court explained the reasoning behind the sentencing, stating, "To provide an opportunity for victim recovery and settlement, A was not taken into custody in the courtroom, taking into consideration that the defendant is of advanced age, has no criminal record exceeding a fine, and the scale of damage to the victim company is not excessive."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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