The branch manager accused of leaking company information was not indicted... The reason is

A man who was handed over to the prosecution on charges of leaking important company information to a third party was acquitted.

Last March, the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office decided not to indict Mr. A, in his 40s, on charges of breach of trust and fraud.

Mr. A worked as a regional branch manager of a sales company for about 1 year and 6 months starting in October 2023, and was accused of causing a loss of about 83 million won by handing over data necessary for the company's business to a third party.

Mr. A denied the charges. He claimed that he had joined the company on the recommendation of Mr. B, the head of the regional center, and that the company was only in charge of salary management and had no knowledge of the existence of the leaked data.

The prosecution decided not to indict. This is because Mr. A did not sign a business contract with the head office. As the basis for this, the prosecution mentioned the 'commissioning contract' signed between center director B and the head office. The contract contained the clause that 'all workers at the center belong to Mr. B, and Mr. B will assume responsibility in the event of a legal dispute.'

The prosecution explained, “Since Mr. B had all authority over the company’s data, it is difficult to view Mr. A as ‘a person handling other people’s affairs.’”

Attorney Choi Hyeon-deok of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, "For a breach of trust to be established, it must be acknowledged that the 'person handling another person's affairs' caused property damage to the other party by acting in violation of his/her duties." He added, "In that Mr. A was not directly managed and supervised by the company, and the actual person handling the matter was Mr. B, he does not meet the requirements for breach of trust."

Reporter Hwang Jeong-won (jwhwang@mt.co.kr)

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The branch manager accused of leaking company information was 'non-indicted'... The reason is (Shortcut)