12.06.2023
A former Samsung executive has been indicted and arrested on suspicion of stealing Samsung technology to open a chip factory in China, South Korean prosecutors said. The executive involved is said to have an authoritative position in the South Korean chip industry.
(Deutsche Welle Chinese Network) South Korea’s Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement released on Monday that the suspect was suspected of obtaining and using the basic engineering data (Basic Engineering Data), process flow chart, design drawing and other information. The technology involved is a process technology used to manufacture dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and flash memory chips (NAND) below 30 nanometers, which is a national key technology.
According to related reports from Han News Agency, the suspect attempted to build a counterfeit Samsung chip factory only 1.5 kilometers away from Samsung Electronics’ Xi’an semiconductor factory. However, the factory construction project did not proceed due to the failure of the promises of the Taiwanese investors. However, it is reported that the suspect had received 460 billion won in Chengdu to invest in the construction of a semiconductor manufacturing plant, of which the R&D building was completed last year, and samples were produced using Samsung Electronics semiconductor technology.
Along with the suspect, a total of six people were indicted for violating the Industrial Technology Protection Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, the Suwon prosecutors said in a statement. “This is a serious crime that could shake the foundation of South Korea’s chip technology and deal a major blow to South Korea’s economic security at a time when chip competition is intensifying,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yue: An “all-out war” has broken out over chip technology
Han News Agency reported that the suspect used to be the executive of Samsung Electronics and the vice president of SK Hynix. He is an authoritative figure in the field of semiconductor manufacturing in South Korea. After setting up a factory in China, he hired 200 employees of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and instructed them to obtain and use Samsung Electronics semiconductor design materials. The prosecution estimated that the suspect’s theft of technology caused at least 300 billion won in losses to Samsung Electronics.
Last Thursday, South Korean President Yin Xiyue held a semiconductor national strategy meeting. Yin Xiyue described that the tension between the United States and China has pushed the competition in the chip industry to “all-out war.” The South Korean government will join hands with the United States and other allies to fully support the development of the South Korean chip industry.
South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix are the world‘s two largest memory chip makers and have invested billions of dollars in Chinese chip companies.
(Reuters, Han News Agency)
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