[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] Ahn Seung-ho, former vice president and head of the IP Center at Samsung Electronics, has been arrested on charges of leaking confidential patent analysis information from within the company.
On the 30th, Nam Cheon-gyu, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Ahn, citing concerns about potential evidence destruction. Ahn faces charges under the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act for leaking trade secrets.
Ahn appeared at the Seoul Central District Court at 10:45 a.m. on this day but did not respond to reporters' questions regarding the allegations of stealing confidential information from Samsung or whether he established a patent management firm to sue Samsung Electronics. His pre-trial detention hearing began at 11 a.m.
The prosecution had previously requested an arrest warrant for Ahn in January, but it was denied.
After leaving Samsung Electronics in 2019, Ahn established a patent management company (NPE) and used leaked confidential information from Samsung employees to file a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics in the Eastern District of Texas.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
