They skillfully stole advanced technology... then discarded it like a Tanghulu stick

Senior Engineer Fooled by Chinese Scheme
Tempted with 10x High Salary
Dismissed When No Longer Useful
Samsung Electronics Ex-Employee A Detained for Anti-Espionage Law Violation in China
Revised Punishment Scope for Technology Leakage
Possible Legal Sanctions in Both Korea and China

Recently, cases of elderly technicians who received large sums of money and moved to Chinese competitors, leaking technology related to semiconductors and other advanced industries, have been forcibly dismissed, as confirmed by our investigative authorities. Within the industry, there are calls to use domestic talents as ‘banmyeon gyosa (反面敎師, negative examples)’ to deter moves to China. The aim is to use this as an opportunity to block the outflow of talent.

According to investigative authorities and the industry on the 4th, the recent case of Mr. A, a former Samsung Electronics semiconductor division employee currently detained in China on charges of violating the Anti-Espionage Law, is regarded as a wake-up call within the domestic semiconductor industry. Mr. A worked at China’s largest memory company, Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT), but was arrested and detained on suspicion of leaking company technology. It is said that after moving to a Chinese company, he became useless and is now facing judicial judgment on charges of technology leakage.

Mr. A joined CXMT in October 2016 on a five-year contract but was forced to resign and expelled after three and a half years. Afterwards, branded as a technology leaker, he was unable to return to Korea and reportedly worked at three companies in nearby regions. According to industry insiders, Chinese companies generally recruit our technicians and then treat and dismiss them in a manner similar to CXMT. Summarizing the cases, Chinese companies initially approach our elderly technicians nearing retirement, enticing them with salaries ranging from twice to ten times what they receive in Korea. They then receive and utilize the proprietary advanced technologies held by our companies from these technicians. The technicians are also made to recruit colleagues they know well or worked with while employed at our companies, thereby poaching talent. After about two to three years, when the technician is deemed no longer useful, they are recommended to resign by being transferred to sales positions.

An industry insider said, "For our technicians who are not fluent in Chinese, being told to do sales work in the local Chinese market is practically a way of saying ‘get out.’" Many reportedly leave without receiving the promised contract period, proper salary, or severance pay.

Concerns remain high in the industry as technology leakage to China is not easily controlled. According to the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters, 27 cases of overseas technology leakage were detected from January to October this year. Of these, 18 cases, accounting for 72%, were related to China.

The legal community warns that the possibility of being punished in both Korea and China has recently increased for those who leak technology to China. This is because China revised its Anti-Espionage Law in July last year, expanding the definition of ‘espionage acts’ from the previous "acts of stealing state secrets and information" to a vague scope including "collection, transmission, storage, use, destruction, damage, manipulation, sale, etc. of information and items related to state secrets," allowing for stronger punishment of technology leakers.

Legal experts widely agree that Chinese companies have a strong basis to accuse our technicians who have become useless after recruitment, based on this law. If Mr. A, who was arrested in China on charges of leaking CXMT’s technology, is punished by Chinese judicial authorities, it will be the first case among Koreans. Similar incidents are likely to increase in the future.

A lawyer familiar with Chinese trends advised, "Recently, China has been stealing our technology, boasting it as their own, and even claiming in markets or local courts that Korea leaked technology to them. If you recklessly give away technology lured by large sums of money, you might get stabbed in the back instead."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.