Court prevents ex-Samsung employee from working for Chinese firm

By Baek Byung-yeul

A court has ordered a former Samsung Display employee not to work for the firm's Chinese competitor, citing concerns over a possible technology leakage.

The Suwon District Court Thursday sided with Samsung Display, banning a former employee from taking a new job at an affiliate of China-based display firm Beijing Oriental Electronics (BOE).

The court ruled the ex-Samsung employee should not work for rival companies or subcontractors for two years. The court added the defendant must compensate Samsung Display 10 million won ($8,943) per day, if the ex-Samsung employee fails to perform the obligation.

Samsung Display confirmed its former employee, who worked as an engineer developing organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels, violated a non-disclosure agreement.

“The former employee left the company last August after signing a non-disclosure agreement saying he would not get a new job in the same field within two years,” a Samsung Display official said.

This is the first time the country's court has banned an ex-employee from attempting to land a job at a rival company.

When leaving the company, the engineer told Samsung he would get a new job at a local ship safety management firm, but he actually got a job at China's Chengdu-based COE, an ally of BOE.

The court came to the conclusion, assuming the two companies have close ties as they have the same major shareholders and COE's company building is only 600 meters from BOE's manufacturing plant. The court added it recognized the ex-Samsung worker's bank statements did not specify the company name.

Samsung said it turned out the defendant did violate the relocation rule and the company will take every measure to prevent technology leakage.

As seen in this case, Korean tech firms are facing a growing brain drain.

It has been reported that many researchers working in Korea's semiconductor and display industries are finding jobs at Chinese rival companies.

Chinese firms have recruited Korean engineers in a bid to become high-tech powerhouses. BOE is rumored to have courted about 100 Korean engineers from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and SK hynix, according to an industry source.

To prevent a brain drain to China, Korean tech companies have introduced diverse measures to retain employees. “We have offered our talented and experienced employees extra incentives and other kinds of support to retain our workers,” an official at a local tech company said.