(1) Any person who uses trade secrets in a foreign country or commits any of the following acts while knowing that trade secrets will be used in a foreign country, shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than 15 years or by a fine not exceeding 1.5 billion won: Provided, That where he or she is punished by a fine and the amount equal to 10 times the amount of proprietary benefits acquired by the violation exceeds 1.5 billion won, a fine equal to 2 to 10 times the amount of proprietary benefits shall be imposed: <Amended on Jan. 8, 2019>
1. Any of the following acts committed for the purpose of making an improper profit or causing damage to a person who possesses trade secrets:(a) Acquiring, using, or leaking to any third party, trade secrets;(b) Unauthorized release of trade secrets out of a designated place;(c) Continuing to possess trade secrets even after a request to delete or return them by the person who possesses such trade secrets;
2. Any act of acquiring trade secrets by steal, fraud, intimidation, or other improper means;
3. Any act of acquiring or using (except for the uses permitted under Article 13 (1)) trade secrets with knowledge of the commission of an act described in subparagraph 1 or 2.
(2) Any person who commits an act described in any subparagraph of paragraph (1) shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than 10 years or by a fine not exceeding 500 million won: Provided, That if where he or she is punished by a fine and the amount equal to 10 times the amount of proprietary benefits acquired by the violation exceeds 500 million won, a fine equal to 2 to 10 times the amount of proprietary benefits shall be imposed. <Amended on Jan. 8, 2019>
(3) A person who damages, destroys, or changes another person's trade secrets in violation of Article 9-8 for the purpose of obtaining unjust profits or causing damage to a person holding trade secrets shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than 10 years or by a fine not exceeding 500 million won. <Newly Inserted on Feb. 20, 2024>
(4) Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won: <Amended on Jul. 30, 2013; Jan. 17, 2017; Apr. 17, 2018; Dec. 7, 2021; Feb. 20, 2024>
1. A person who has engaged in an act of unfair competition under subparagraph 1 of Article 2 (excluding items (h), (j), (k) (i) through (iii), (l), and (m));
2. A person who has used as a trademark a symbol that is identical or similar to any of the following insignias or marks in violation of Article 3:(a) The national flag, national emblem, or other insignias of a party to the Paris Convention, a member state of the World Trade Organization, or a contracting state of the Trademark Law Treaty;(b) The mark of an international organization;(c) The mark of inspection or certification of a party to the Paris Convention, a member state of the World Trade Organization, or a contracting state of the Trademark Law Treaty.
(5) Any of the following persons shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding 10 million won: <Newly Inserted on Jul. 30, 2013; Feb. 20, 2024>
1. A person who has damaged, changed, forged, or leaked any electronic fingerprints registered with an original document certification agency or any other information related thereto in violation of Article 9-7 (1);
2. A person who has divulged any confidential information he or she learned in the course of performing his or her duties in violation of Article 9-7 (2).
(6) Imprisonment with labor and a fine referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) may be concurrently imposed. <Amended on Jul. 30, 2013; Feb. 20, 2024>[This Article Wholly Amended on Dec. 21, 2007]