Photo: Samsung Electronics

 

 

[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] A former senior Samsung Electronics engineer has been sentenced to six years in prison for leaking key semiconductor technologies and related engineering resources to a Chinese company.



On July 23, the Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 8 (Presiding Judge Kim Sung-soo) upheld the conviction of Mr. Kim (57), a former department head in Samsung’s semiconductor division, sentencing him to six years in prison and a fine of 200 million KRW (approx. USD 145,000) for violating the Act on Prevention and Protection of Industrial Technology Leakage. This is a reduction from the seven-year sentence issued in the lower court.



Two former executives from semiconductor equipment manufacturer “Company A” involved in the same case had their original sentences upheld—2 years and 6 months, and 1 year and 6 months in prison, respectively. Two additional accomplices also received suspended sentences, as in the first trial.



The court stated, “Mr. Kim led a serious offense that could inflict massive damages on the victim companies and negatively impact national interests. There is little prospect for recovery, and thus a heavy sentence is warranted.” The judge rejected Kim’s claims that he did not conspire to use or leak the technology.



However, the court acknowledged that Kim had no prior criminal record and had been dismissed from his company before reluctantly seeking employment at a Chinese firm. It also noted that he was not directly involved in leaking Samsung’s core DRAM technology, which contributed to the reduced sentence.



According to prosecutors, Kim and the others were charged with illegally transferring Samsung’s 18nm DRAM manufacturing process technology—a classified national core technology—to Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). The case also involved the theft of proprietary design documents related to deposition equipment from Company A, intended to support CXMT’s equipment development.



Authorities estimate that the leaked technology had a development value of 73.6 billion KRW (approx. USD 54 million). The accused allegedly received hundreds of millions of Korean won in compensation for the unauthorized transfer after joining CXMT in 2016.

 

 

 

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