A former Samsung Electronics researcher has been sentenced to seven years in prison for leaking sensitive semiconductor technology to a Chinese company.
The ruling, delivered by the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea, adds to a series of cases involving the transfer of advanced chip know-how abroad.
The court found the 56-year-old man, identified by his surname Jeon, guilty of violating the Industrial Technology Protection Act.
Judges said he unlawfully obtained and used Samsung’s DRAM process technology after leaving the company and joining China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT).
Jeon’s case centres on what authorities describe as national core technology. This includes Samsung’s DRAM production process and detailed manufacturing methods known in the industry as process recipes.
The development of the technology reportedly cost around 1.6 trillion won, or about $1.2 billion.
Prosecutors said the former Samsung Researcher worked with others after moving to CXMT and helped draw up a DRAM development plan for the Chinese firm. They also said he was involved in recruiting key personnel during the transition.
Over a period of about six years, he received around 2.9 billion won, or roughly $2.1 million, from CXMT. This included a sign-on payment and stock options.
CXMT is China’s first DRAM-focused semiconductor company. It was set up with large-scale support from local government funding, estimated at about 2.6 trillion won.
The firm has been expanding quickly as China pushes to reduce reliance on foreign chip suppliers.
Authorities in South Korea argued that the leaked information could have helped CXMT speed up development in high-bandwidth memory technology.
That type of memory is now widely used in artificial intelligence systems and high-performance computing.
Samsung Electronics did not comment on the ruling. CXMT also did not respond to requests for comment.
In its judgment, the court stressed the scale of the breach and its wider impact. The judges said, “He acquired core information developed by a major Korean company at enormous cost and had it used by a foreign entity. Because this inflicted losses not only on the company but also on the Republic of Korea, severe punishment is unavoidable.”
This case is not isolated as South Korea has dealt with several similar incidents in recent years involving advanced display and semiconductor technologies. In earlier cases, employees were found guilty of leaking OLED and chip-related data to overseas firms.
Another related case involving a former Samsung employee surnamed Kim is still under review after reaching South Korea’s Supreme Court. He was previously sentenced to six years in prison and fined for similar offences linked to CXMT.
Court records show that Kim’s case was sent back for retrial after the Supreme Court ruled that earlier proceedings did not properly separate key legal elements, including acquisition and disclosure of trade secrets.
South Korean authorities treat semiconductor process technology as national core technology. Officials say this reveals its importance to both industry and national security.
CXMT has expanded despite the legal challenge surrounding its early development. In 2025, the company announced plans to raise about 29.5 billion yuan through an initial public offering in Shanghai.
The funds are expected to support upgrades to production lines and technology development.
This case also adds to a pattern of industrial espionage disputes involving South Korea’s chip sector. In 2012, several individuals were arrested over alleged leaks of display technology. More cases followed in 2020 and 2023, involving both semiconductor and OLED information.
