Samsung Biologics faces confidential data leak dispute

May 13 (Asia Today) -- Samsung Biologics is facing a dispute after confidential internal documents were disclosed outside the company, with the name of the company's labor union chief appearing in a file access record.

It has not been confirmed whether Park Jae-sung, head of the Samsung Biologics labor union, was involved in the leak. Park denied distributing the material externally.

"I did not distribute the material to reporters," Park told Asia Today.

Industry officials said an internal electronic tax invoice file from Samsung Biologics was recently leaked outside the company. The material reportedly included records of the company's advertising and sponsorship spending with media outlets over the past three years.

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Industry sources said the file was considered highly sensitive, even within the company's public relations office.

The controversy grew after Park's name was found in the document's access record. Some online media outlets reported the issue, increasing attention on how the material was disclosed.

Samsung Biologics has asked Yeonsu Police Station in Incheon to investigate the leak.

So far, only the file access record has been confirmed. The person or group responsible for disclosing the document externally has not been identified.

The dispute could further deepen labor-management tensions at Samsung Biologics. The conflict has already moved beyond wage negotiations into legal disputes.

On Friday, the company filed criminal complaints against six people, including Park, two other union executives and three union members in management-level field positions. On May 4, the company also filed a criminal complaint accusing a union member of obstruction of business for allegedly entering a production site without authorization and monitoring operations despite not being assigned to quality control.

The union held a full strike from May 1 to Monday and is continuing a work-to-rule campaign by refusing overtime and holiday work.

A one-on-one labor-management meeting collapsed May 6, and a three-way meeting involving labor, management and government officials on Friday also failed to produce an agreement, industry officials said.

Analysts said the prolonged labor dispute could affect future contract orders and production schedules.

"Compared with the past, when the company could supply commercial material within a year at a client's request, recent timelines appear to be lengthening," said Chung Yoo-kyung, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities.

"At a time when rapid order completion and higher utilization rates are needed, labor issues could also become a factor slowing new orders," Chung said, citing reshoring policies and saturation in the antibody drug market.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260513010003278