All appeals are dismissed.

The costs of appeal are assessed against the plaintiffs.

The grounds of appeal are examined (to the extent of supplement in case of supplemental appellate briefs not timely filed).

1. Article 2 subparag. 1 (b) of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act (hereinafter “Unfair Competition Prevention Act”) provides that “an act of causing confusion with another person’s business facilities or activities by using any one identical or similar to another person’s name, trade name, emblem, and other signs indicating another person’s business widely known in the Republic of Korea, in order to prevent an act of obtaining unjust profits by taking advantage of the credit or reputation of another person, which form a considerable effort and expense.”

Here, the similarity of a business mark should be determined depending on whether a general consumer at a specific transaction room is likely to mislead or confuse the source of business by observing two business marks used for the same type of business in terms of appearance, name, concept, etc. In addition, “an act of causing confusion with another person’s business facilities or activities” includes not only cases where a business mark itself is misleads consumers as identical, but also cases where a general consumer is believed to have a close relationship with capital, organization, etc. between users of a mark identical or similar to the subject of the relevant business mark using a mark widely known in the Republic of Korea and using the mark identical or similar to another person’s business mark.

(see, e.g., Supreme Court Decision 2011Da9822, Dec. 22, 2011). In light of the legislative intent and content of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, in a case where a business group, which is economically and systematically related, is separated, certain affiliates play a central role in adopting and using the business group mark, thereby recognizing them as the subject of credit incorporated into the business group mark to ordinary consumers.