bhc "BBQ's Claim of Violation of the Information and Communications Network Act Cleared of Charges"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] bhc announced on the 18th that all six individuals, including bhc Chairman Park Hyunjong and executives, who were accused by BBQ of violating the Information and Communications Network Act, have been cleared of charges with a non-prosecution decision following the prosecution's investigation.

bhc stated that on the 12th, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office decided not to prosecute due to insufficient evidence regarding the case BBQ filed against six people, including Chairman Park, alleging unauthorized access to its internal groupware to obtain key trade secrets.

In 2016, BBQ filed a complaint against Chairman Park and five others for trade secret infringement, but the prosecution dismissed the case. BBQ appealed multiple times, but all resulted in dismissal.

After several trade secret infringement complaints were dismissed, BBQ filed a similar complaint in 2019 under the Information and Communications Network Act, but this too was dismissed in November last year. Nevertheless, BBQ appealed the prosecution's dismissal, prompting a reinvestigation order. This time, the case was again dismissed due to insufficient grounds to recognize the claims and lack of evidence to prove them.

Earlier, on the 29th of last month, BBQ also lost a damages lawsuit it filed against bhc related to trade secret infringement.

A bhc official stated, “We deeply regret that BBQ has repeatedly filed baseless complaints without evidence, despite multiple dismissals, in an attempt to undermine a competitor. In particular, according to the prosecution’s dismissal document, the key evidence BBQ claimed during the complaint and appeal process was proven false following the prosecution’s on-site investigation of BBQ. We will respond even more firmly to BBQ’s unilateral and unreasonable claims that disregard facts and legal principles.”