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[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] A former employee of Samsung Electronics and its partner company was arrested on the 15th. They are accused of leaking core technology of semiconductor equipment to a Chinese company.
Lee Min-soo, a senior judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant sought by the prosecution for Kim, a former head of Samsung Electronics, and Bang, a former head of his partner company A, saying, "There is a risk of destroying evidence."
Kim, a former head of Samsung Electronics, is suspected of violating the Industrial Technology Protection Act by illegally leaking information on Samsung Electronics' semiconductor process and allowing Chinese company Changshin Memory Technology (CXMT) to use it.
According to the prosecution, Kim is known to have handed over eight key process-related technologies to China, including semiconductor-related data.
Prosecutors believe Kim and others leaked the technology when they moved to the startup company CXMT in 2016 and received tens of billions of won in bribes in return. In addition, he suspects that Kim approached employees of Samsung Electronics and its affiliates, offered more than 500 million won after tax, and took out some 20 employees.
Meanwhile, CXMT has grown rapidly to become a major DRAM semiconductor company in China several years after its establishment, narrowing the technology gap with Korean and US competitors. The prosecution plans to continue further investigations into those involved in the technology leak.
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