Prosecutors in South Korea claim that a former executive of Samsung Electronics stole trade secrets about semiconductors from the business in order to start a competing chip factory in China.
The suspect, 65, who has previously worked for the South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix, has been detained. In order to construct a copy of Samsung’s semiconductor plant approximately 1.5 kilometers from the company’s chip production in Xi’an, China, he is accused of violating laws controlling the preservation of industrial technology and stealing trade secrets between 2018 and 2019.
The ex-Samsung executive’s plan to build the fake chip plant allegedly failed when his backer, an unidentified Taiwanese company, allegedly canceled more than a $6 billion (about 8 trillion won) investment in the project. As an alternative, he received funds from Chinese and Taiwanese investors so that he could develop test chip devices utilizing Samsung’s expertise.
The accusation comes as American and Chinese tensions over semiconductors are increasing.
With more than 25 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, the suspect set up two chip manufacturing facilities in China and Singapore and hired more than 200 semiconductor specialists from Samsung and SK Hynix in South Korea. Prosecutors claim that the stolen data might cost Samsung at least $233 million (300 billion won).
Instead than just leaking semiconductor technology, the business allegedly tried to clone a whole semiconductor manufacturing, according to the prosecution. “It is a serious crime that could deal a heavy blow to the foundation of the domestic semiconductor industry,” the prosecutor’s office said in a time of intense competition for chip production.
The prosecution filed six further indictments against alleged associates of an ex-Samsung official. Samsung opted not to respond.
