Former Samsung Electronics Vice President (IP Center Head) Ahn Seung-ho, who was arrested and indicted on charges of leaking Samsung Electronics' internal confidential documents to use in a patent infringement lawsuit, has been released on bail.
Ahn Seung-ho, former Vice President of Samsung Electronics (Head of IP Center). Photo by Yonhap News
On the 13th, the Criminal Division 28 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Han Dae-gyun) announced that it had granted bail to former Vice President Ahn, who was prosecuted for violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Act (such as leaking trade secrets).
The court set bail conditions including a deposit of 30 million won, residence restrictions, and prohibition of harm or contact with parties involved in the case. Additionally, the court imposed conditions such as attaching an electronic location tracking device and mandatory attendance at trials.
According to the prosecution, former Vice President Ahn served as the inaugural head of the IP Center, overseeing Samsung Electronics' IP management for about 10 years, and established Synergy IP, a patent management company (NPE). He is accused of receiving internal confidential materials, including patent analysis information, from a Samsung Electronics IP Center employee with whom he had a close relationship, and using this information in a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics. Former Vice President Ahn, in collaboration with the audio equipment company ‘Tekiya,’ filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States, claiming that Samsung Electronics had unauthorizedly used patents related to audio recording devices.
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