Legality review of searching employees' work PCs

The client, a hospital operator, requested consultation from Law firm Veat regarding whether the act of a company inspecting data stored on a work PC used by a retired employee to check for leakage of trade secrets or important information is lawful according to related laws and regulations, such as the “Personal Information Protection Act.”

The client was concerned that inspecting the device, given the possibility that it contains the retired employee’s personal information, might constitute a legal violation.

Law firm Veat comprehensively reviewed related laws and regulations, including the “Act on Prevention of Unfair Competition and Protection of Trade Secrets,” along with the “Personal Information Protection Act” and the “Telecommunications Business Act Confidentiality Act,” and analyzed the major requirements that must be met for the device search to be conducted lawfully.

Furthermore, considering the client’s organizational structure and the departing employee management system, it presented practically applicable response measures and supported the company in making a balanced judgment between the values of personal information protection and internal information management.

Law firm Veat frequently provides consultation on sensitive issues such as trade secret protection, personal information management, and internal information leakage, which platform, IT, and data-driven companies often face, and in practice, provides guidance on the necessity of overall internal system improvement, including establishing internal security policies, designing personal information protection procedures, and establishing post-response protocols.

Those who need legal advice regarding trade secret leakage, information security policies, and internal control system construction are welcome to contact Law firm Veat at any time.

For more details on this case study, please see Law firm Veat official blog.

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Law firm Veat