Prosecutors Indict Three Former LG Display Employees for Technology Leakage to China

On Trial for Allegedly Photographing Blueprints and Passing Them to Chinese Competitors

Former LG Display employees have been indicted on charges of transferring large OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panel mass production technology to Chinese competitors.

According to the legal community on the 20th, the Information Technology Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Andong Geon) recently arrested and indicted two former LG Display employees and indicted one without detention on charges of violating the Industrial Technology Protection Act and the Act on the Prevention of Unfair Competition and Protection of Trade Secrets.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Mr. A and others are accused of photographing design blueprints of LG Display's Guangzhou factory in China with a smartphone between 2021 and 2022 and leaking them to Chinese competitors. The main culprit, Mr. A, began this crime after moving to a large Chinese display company in 2021, and later conspired with employees working at LG Display to leak large OLED mass production technology. Mr. A is known to have worked for more than 20 years after joining LG Electronics and then transferring to LG Display.

Earlier, the Industrial Technology Security Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent four former LG Display employees, including Mr. A, to the prosecution last month. The prosecution cleared one of them. LG Display stated, “During the monitoring process of former employees, we confirmed signs of information leakage and requested an investigation by law enforcement agencies. We are continuously strengthening security management and systems, and will thoroughly respond to any attempts to leak our information with criminal punishment as a principle.”