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Samsung chip executive feels ‘cornered’ after arrest for stealing data to build China factory

  • Jailed executive Choi Jinseog rejected allegations he illegally got secret information to build a semiconductor plant only 1.5km from a Samsung factory in Xian
  • He said his plan was to build an R&D chip line and he didn’t need to copy Samsung’s facilities designed for mass production

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A South Korean chip executive is accused of illegally acquiring data from Samsung to build a factory in China’s Xian. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap
Reuters
A South Korean chip executive imprisoned over industrial espionage charges rejected allegations he had sought to build a copycat chip factory in China with sensitive information developed by Samsung Electronics.
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In a handwritten letter to Reuters, his first comments to media since he was detained on May 25, Choi Jinseog elaborated on his defence plan and said the allegations against him regarding the Xian plant were not substantiated.

Prosecutors earlier this month indicted the former Samsung executive for illegally obtaining secret information to build a semiconductor plant only 1.5km (1 mile) from a Samsung factory in Xian, China.

Choi is in custody at a detention centre in Suwon, a city south of Seoul where Samsung has its headquarters. He previously denied all the charges through his lawyer.

In the letter, Choi said the factory was planned for Taiwan’s Foxconn, for early test production of DRAM memory chips, while Samsung’s plant in Xian was designed to manufacture NAND flash memory chips.

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