South Korea reportedly accused a former Samsung Electronics employee of leaking confidential Samsung information to China. The former employee allegedly stole Samsung’s technology related to semiconductor chips and was trying to set up a chip factory in China.Technology espionage at Samsung
According to the prosecution, the anonymous former executive worked for Samsung’s chip division for 18 years and also served as vice president of SK hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker after Samsung. South Korean prosecutors said the employee illegally obtained Samsung’s confidential information, founded a semiconductor chip firm and tried to set up a chip factory in Xian, China between 2018 and 2019. The factory was 1.5 km from Samsung’s chip factory in Xian.
According to the statements, the necessary indictment has been prepared, but the hearings have not yet started. South Korean prosecutors also charged six more people for their involvement in this industrial espionage. Samsung is reported to have suffered losses worth at least KRW 300 billion (approximately $233 million) due to this information leak. It is also stated that the defendant in question has worked for South Korean semiconductor chip companies for 28 years.
“This is a serious crime that could undermine the domestic chip industry and deal a heavy blow to our economic security at a time when competition in chip manufacturing is intensifying,” the prosecution said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol described the competition in the industry as a “total war” at a time when China-US tensions increased. Meanwhile, South Korean Samsung and SK Hynix, the world’s two largest memory chip makers, had invested billions of dollars in chip factories in China.
41072
