In a significant breach of industrial security, ten former Samsung employees have been arrested for leaking the company’s cutting-edge 10-nanometer-class DRAM technology to China. This technology, developed over five years with an investment of 1.6 trillion won, was a closely guarded secret and a national asset for South Korea. However, it was illicitly acquired by ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), allowing the Chinese firm to begin producing similar DRAM chips from 2023. This incident has reportedly cost Samsung around 5 trillion won and inflicted a much larger economic impact on South Korea.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has charged these individuals, five of whom are former Samsung employees, under laws related to unfair competition and industrial technology protection. The other five, including members of CXMT’s development team, have been charged without detention.
The illegal transfer of technology began when CXMT, founded in 2016, hired a former Samsung department head to spearhead its development efforts. This individual, along with a team including former Samsung researchers, accessed Samsung’s 18nm DRAM process technology through another ex-employee at CXMT. The technology was painstakingly copied by hand and then passed to CXMT, where it was adapted for use with Chinese manufacturing equipment between 2018 and 2023.
South Korea has vowed to take stringent measures against those who compromise its technological advancements, reinforcing its commitment to protecting national industrial secrets.
