South Korea Supreme Court Orders Ironmace to Pay 5.76 Billion Won in Trade Secret Case

SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling that ordered game development company Ironmace Co. to pay 5.76 billion won (US$3.87 million) in damages to industry rival Nexon Co. for trade secret infringement. But Nexon's claim of copyright infringement by Ironmace was not accepted even by the top court. The legal battle began in 2021, when Nexon claimed that its former employee and the incumbent Ironmace CEO, Choi Ju-hyun, leaked its "P3" game source code and data to a personal server before establishing Ironmace and creating "Dark and Darker," a multiplayer action role-playing game, based on the stolen materials. In February 2025, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Ironmace must pay 8.5 billion won in damages for infringing on Nexon's trade secrets by leaking P3-related information, though it did not find Ironmace guilty of violating Nexon's copyright. The appellate court also acknowledged Ironmace's infringement of trade secrets but reduced the compensation amount to 5.76 billion won. The claim of copyright infringement was not accepted in the second trial either. Following the Supreme Court's decision, Ironmace has to pay the compensation to Nexon. Nexon issued a statement, saying the ruling reaffirms that pursuing profit by unjustly misappropriating another company's assets can never be tolerated. Ironmace was separately indicted by prosecutors in February this year on charges of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act and is facing criminal trial.