– Korean courts order Intercos Korea to bear full legal costs, affirming its civil and criminal liability.
SEOUL, South Korea, February 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Kolmar Korea has won a decisive legal victory in a long-running dispute over the illegal leak of proprietary sunscreen technologies involving Intercos Korea, the Korean subsidiary of Italian cosmetics company ODM Intercos. Following the Supreme Court’s final guilty verdict, the courts further ordered the losing party to bear full legal costs, thereby highlighting the seriousness of technology misappropriation and the legal liability that accompanies it.
Kolmar Korea recovered a total of 31.2 million KRW in legal fees from Intercos Korea and a former employee, representing the total amount of civil legal costs actually incurred in the case.
The dispute arose when a former Kolmar Korea employee, identified as A, who had worked at the company for about 10 years, transferred to Intercos Korea in 2018 and illegally withdrew several basic research and development documents, including proprietary sunscreen formulation data and new product development information. The investigation later revealed that another former employee, B, who had also joined Intercos Korea around the same time, had participated in the leak of trade secrets.
In January 2024, the Supreme Court of Korea finalized the guilty verdicts against the two former employees. Subsequently, in October 2024, the Suwon District Court ruled that Intercos Korea had violated the Law on Prevention of Unfair Competition and Protection of Trade Secrets, imposing a fine of KRW 5 million.
A spokesperson for Kolmar Korea commented: “This decision represents the firm implementation of our principle that technology leaks must be held accountable to the end. We will continue to take all necessary measures to protect our core technologies and R&D assets. »
Kolmar Korea is widely recognized for its world-class sun care research and development capabilities. In 2022, the company created a dedicated research organization, the UV Technology Innovation Laband currently holds over 100 patents related to UV protection technologies. Last year, Kolmar Korea developed the world’s first stabilization technology for a hybrid composite sunscreen combining mineral and chemical UV filters. The company has also been a pioneer in global sun care markets, having become the first company in Korea to obtain OTC certification from the US FDA for sun protection products in 2013.
SOURCE Kolmar Korea
