Samsung Trade Secrets Stolen by 65-Year-Old Man Attempting to Build Chip Factory in China, Resulting in Charges for Him and Six Others

The 65-year-old man, whose name has not been released, allegedly stole Samsung’s trade secrets to build a chip factory in the Chinese city of Xi’an, Suwon County Prosecutor’s Office said in a separate statement.

The materials he is accused of stealing were classified as “core state technology” – innovations that, according to South Korean law, could have a significant negative impact on the country’s security and economy if disclosed to foreign countries.

“He is currently in the Suwon Detention Center,” a spokesman for the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office told AFP, adding that the suspect had been detained for some time but was only officially charged on Monday, June 12.

Securing the supply of advanced chips has become a major issue internationally as the United States (US) and China engage in a fierce battle for market control.

Samsung is one of the world’s largest makers of memory chips and smartphones, with a combined turnover of about one-fifth of South Korea’s gross domestic product, according to AFP.

The man allegedly tried to steal 2018 and 2019 factory blueprints and designs worth at least $236 million to Samsung, authorities said.

“This is a serious crime that could have a huge negative impact on our economic security, shaking the foundations of the domestic semiconductor industry at a time when competition in chip manufacturing is getting stronger every day,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Monday.

“The semiconductor industry accounted for 16.5% of South Korea’s total exports in 2022 and is of national security value,” the statement said.

Prosecutors charged six other people who worked for the arrested driver and were believed to be involved in the theft.

The man had worked for South Korea’s top chip makers for a total of 28 years and was a “leading expert in semiconductor manufacturing” in the country, prosecutors said.

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