Former Samsung executive charged with stealing valuable company secrets worth hundreds of millions planned to replicate chip factory in China.
Semiconductor-related issues have emerged as a contentious matter between the United States and China, as they engage in a fierce dispute over chip-making technology and supplies.
Samsung Employee Detained for Acquiring National Core Technology
According to South Korean prosecutors, a former Samsung employee, aged 65, is suspected of unlawfully obtaining the company’s factory blueprints and clean-room designs from 2018 and 2019.
The Suwon district prosecutor’s office stated that the individual attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to establish a replicated production facility in Xian, China, where Samsung already operates a chip factory.
The person in question, whose identity remains undisclosed and is currently detained pending trial, acquired materials that South Korea classifies as national core technology, a type of technology that, if disclosed overseas, could potentially jeopardize national security and the economy.
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US Export Controls Target China’s Access to Advanced Chips
Prosecutors have confirmed that the accused has been in custody for a period of time and was formally charged on Monday. They have described him as a highly-skilled professional with extensive experience in semiconductor manufacturing.
South Korean authorities estimate the value of the stolen information to be at least 300 billion won ($236 million) for Samsung.
Samsung Electronics, a major player in chip and smartphone production, is one of the world’s leading chip manufacturers. Its parent group’s revenue is equivalent to approximately one-fifth of South Korea’s GDP.
Similar to many prominent chip manufacturers worldwide, Samsung conducts a significant portion of its production activities in China. Chips serve as a vital component of the modern global economy, and China, as the world’s second-largest economy, heavily relies on a stable supply of chips from foreign companies to support its extensive electronics manufacturing industry.
To prevent China from obtaining cutting-edge chips that could be used in advanced weaponry and frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, the United States implemented a series of export controls last year.
This year, the Netherlands and Japan also imposed their own restrictions without explicitly mentioning China. However, these measures have provoked strong objections from Beijing, which has accused Washington of engaging in technological terrorism.
China recently announced that it found US chip giant Micron to have failed a national security review and instructed operators of critical information infrastructure to cease purchasing their products.
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