BBQ Loses First Trial in 100 Billion KRW Trade Secret Infringement Lawsuit Against bhc

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Chicken franchise Genesis BBQ lost the lawsuit filed against bhc for ‘trade secret infringement.’ BBQ has decided to appeal immediately.

The Civil Division 61 of the Seoul Central District Court ruled on the 29th that the plaintiff lost the lawsuit filed by BBQ against bhc and bhc Chairman Park Hyunjong, seeking to prohibit trade secret infringement worth around 100 billion KRW.

In November 2018, BBQ filed a civil lawsuit against bhc and Chairman Park, claiming that they illegally accessed and used trade secrets such as marketing design drafts, recipe information, short- and long-term business strategies for domestic and international operations, specific business contract details, and cost of sales, causing economic damage.

bhc responded that there was no infringement of trade secrets and that they only referred to forms brought by former BBQ employees and never used them in their work.

BBQ and bhc are currently engaged in more than ten other ongoing lawsuits.

BBQ stated, “This is a significant case that could have a major negative impact on the domestic franchise industry. We deeply regret the court’s ruling, which was made without detailed verification of the damage scale and while Chairman Park’s criminal trial is ongoing. We plan to appeal immediately to clarify the unfairness from the victim’s perspective.”

On the other hand, bhc said in a statement, “BBQ has filed an unreasonable lawsuit. We believe that with this ruling, BBQ has lost the momentum to pursue legal disputes.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.