Chip war: former Samsung executives arrested for allegedly stealing tech for China
South Korean police says the two people leaked memory technologies to Chinese officials trying to replicate a semiconductor factory
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Tuesday described how the pair had collaborated with local Chinese officials to build a semiconductor facility. One of the two, identified as a 66-year-old surnamed Choi, recruited South Korean chip experts and leaked Samsung memory technologies via a joint venture, the police said in a statement.
They did not offer time frames, or identify the Chinese location. But some of the details mirrored those from a case that first came to light in 2023, as tensions escalated between Beijing and Washington over sanctions aimed at China’s chip sector. In that instance, a former Samsung executive was arrested for allegedly stealing blueprints to try and replicate an entire fabrication plant in China.
On Tuesday, Seoul police described what it called a serious security violation perpetrated through a Chinese joint venture, Chengdu Gaozhen. Choi served as the venture’s chief and was aided by a plant designer surnamed Oh, police said in their statement.
The pair collaborated with officials to produce 20-nanometer DRAM chips last year, the police said. That not only damaged Samsung but “weakened the nation’s competitiveness when the countries are in a global chip war”, the agency said in its statement.