Former Samsung Employee Accused of Stealing Semiconducting Technologies
South Korean prosecutors formally accused a former Samsung Electronics employee last Wednesday of stealing confidential information about significant semiconductor technologies to sell them to a Chinese firm, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Suspect’s Background
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office indicted a man identified only as Kim, a former Samsung department director, on charges of violating the Industrial Technology Protection Law. Kim is accused of stealing Samsung’s confidential information related to DRAM chip manufacturing and passing it onto Chinese memory chip maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) to use in its product development.
Tipping Off the Chinese Firm
Prosecutors suspect Kim transferred data on seven key semiconductor manufacturing technologies along with other Samsung technologies to CXMT in exchange for tens of millions of dollars after joining the Chinese firm in 2016. Kim is also suspected of luring 20 technical specialists from Samsung and other companies to this Chinese firm by offering them hefty financial rewards. The formerly unestablished CXMT, which only commenced operations in 2016, rapidly rose to the top of China’s DRAM chip manufacturing industry.
Additional Accusations
Another former Samsung employee is under investigation in connection with this case, accused of conspiring with Kim to steal and transfer key technological information from his former company to the Chinese manufacturer, CXMT.
