Former Samsung executives in jail for leaking $3.2 billion in company secrets to China

South Korean police have arrested two former Samsung executives on allegations of leaking $3.2 billion worth of proprietary technology to China. Among those arrested is 66-year-old Mr. Choi, a former Samsung executive who reportedly set up a joint venture in China to build memory chips. Authorities claim Choi, who served as CEO of the Chinese-based firm, recruited other South Korean experts to assist in the operation, including plant designer Mr. Oh.

Choi is being accused of stealing sensitive information related to Samsung's memory technology, particularly the design and manufacturing process for 20nm DRAM chips. These chips are critical to Samsung’s dominance in the memory market, with applications ranging from high-end gaming and virtual reality systems to AI-driven servers.

The South Korean government has condemned the alleged espionage, stating that it "weakened the nation's competitiveness" in the global chip war. Authorities believe that the arrest of Mr. Choi will disrupt the operations of the Chinese venture. However, they are continuing their investigation to determine if there are other instances of industrial espionage connected to this case.

This case adds to a growing list of industrial espionage incidents involving the theft of intellectual property in the high-stakes semiconductor industry. Just months ago, a former employee of SK Hynix, another South Korean chip giant, was arrested at a local airport for attempting to smuggle 3,000 pages of semiconductor data to China. While she denied the charges, the incident highlights the ongoing risk of trade secrets being sold to rival nations.

Taiwan has also accused China of poaching engineers and stealing trade secrets to advance its own chip development. While China has denied these allegations, the country is under immense pressure to develop its domestic semiconductor industry. The U.S. and its allies have imposed sanctions and restrictions on China's access to critical chipmaking technologies, hindering its technological ambitions.

Although Beijing controls much of the world’s rare earth supply, vital for manufacturing cutting-edge semiconductors, the country still faces steep challenges in reducing its reliance on Western technology.