All Samsung Electronics and Partner Company Employees Arrested for Semiconductor Technology Leak to China

On the 15th, a former employee of Samsung Electronics and a partner company were arrested on charges of leaking core semiconductor technology to a Chinese company. Lee Min-su, the chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued arrest warrants for the two individuals, stating there was a "risk of evidence destruction."

Former Samsung Electronics manager Kim and former manager Bang from partner company A are accused of illegally leaking information on Samsung Electronics' 18nm DRAM semiconductor process, a national core technology, allowing the Chinese company Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) to use it for product development (violation of the Industrial Technology Protection Act), among other charges.

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The prosecution believes that in 2016, when Kim and others moved to the newly established CXMT, they handed over technical materials related to seven key processes, including semiconductor 'deposition' data. They are also suspected of receiving hundreds of millions of won in bribes in return. Furthermore, it is believed that Kim offered an annual salary exceeding 500 million won after tax to lure away about 20 technical personnel from Samsung Electronics and its affiliates.

Within a few years of its establishment, CXMT has rapidly grown into a major DRAM semiconductor company in China, narrowing the technological gap with early market leaders.

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