South Korea Charges Ten Former Samsung Employees Over DRAM Technology Leak to China’s CXMT
Prosecutors allege former Samsung staff leaked advanced DRAM process information to Chinese memory maker, aiding its rapid entry into the market.
South Korean prosecutors have indicted ten former employees of Samsung Electronics and related personnel on charges of illegally transferring key semiconductor technology to China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a move they say has had serious consequences for Korea’s national semiconductor competitiveness and economy.
The indictment was announced by the Information Technology Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.
The prosecution alleges that the suspects, including a former Samsung executive and senior engineers, conspired to leak internal process information relating to advanced dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) manufacturing, specifically ten-nanometer-class DRAM and related processes.
Samsung Electronics invested significant resources over several years to develop this technology, which prosecutors classify as a “national core technology”.
According to the charges, one former Samsung employee hand-copied hundreds of individual manufacturing process steps, circumventing digital security measures, and provided the information to CXMT.
Prosecutors say the leaked material enabled CXMT to accelerate its own DRAM development and successfully mass-produce ten-nanometer-class memory by around two thousand twenty-three, becoming one of China’s leading DRAM producers.
The indictment includes allegations of violations of the Industrial Technology Protection Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.
Five of the ten individuals were detained and formally charged, while the other five were indicted without detention.
The prosecution also alleges that some of the technology originated from another South Korean memory maker, SK hynix, and was similarly compromised as part of related activities.
Authorities estimate the financial impact of the technology leak on Samsung and the broader South Korean semiconductor industry to be substantial.
Early projections suggest that lost revenue and competitive disadvantage could amount to tens of trillions of Korean won, highlighting the strategic importance of semiconductor intellectual property to Korea’s export-driven economy.
The case is being closely watched both domestically and internationally as governments and industry stakeholders weigh the implications for global technology competition.
South Korea’s semiconductor sector accounts for a significant share of the country’s exports and is central to efforts to maintain global leadership in memory and logic chips.
Prosecutors have indicated that they may pursue further legal action and seek stricter penalties for industrial espionage and core technology leakage, including discussions around potential enhancements to legal frameworks to deter future incidents.
The indictment was announced by the Information Technology Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.
The prosecution alleges that the suspects, including a former Samsung executive and senior engineers, conspired to leak internal process information relating to advanced dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) manufacturing, specifically ten-nanometer-class DRAM and related processes.
Samsung Electronics invested significant resources over several years to develop this technology, which prosecutors classify as a “national core technology”.
According to the charges, one former Samsung employee hand-copied hundreds of individual manufacturing process steps, circumventing digital security measures, and provided the information to CXMT.
Prosecutors say the leaked material enabled CXMT to accelerate its own DRAM development and successfully mass-produce ten-nanometer-class memory by around two thousand twenty-three, becoming one of China’s leading DRAM producers.
The indictment includes allegations of violations of the Industrial Technology Protection Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.
Five of the ten individuals were detained and formally charged, while the other five were indicted without detention.
The prosecution also alleges that some of the technology originated from another South Korean memory maker, SK hynix, and was similarly compromised as part of related activities.
Authorities estimate the financial impact of the technology leak on Samsung and the broader South Korean semiconductor industry to be substantial.
Early projections suggest that lost revenue and competitive disadvantage could amount to tens of trillions of Korean won, highlighting the strategic importance of semiconductor intellectual property to Korea’s export-driven economy.
The case is being closely watched both domestically and internationally as governments and industry stakeholders weigh the implications for global technology competition.
South Korea’s semiconductor sector accounts for a significant share of the country’s exports and is central to efforts to maintain global leadership in memory and logic chips.
Prosecutors have indicated that they may pursue further legal action and seek stricter penalties for industrial espionage and core technology leakage, including discussions around potential enhancements to legal frameworks to deter future incidents.
