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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Seoul, October 1 – South Korean prosecutors have indicted former Samsung Electronics executives for allegedly leaking core DRAM technology to China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), enabling the company to mass-produce 18-nanometer DRAM in 2023.
At the time, CXMT’s breakthrough shocked the global semiconductor industry. Until then, only South Korea, the U.S., and Taiwan had successfully mass-produced DRAM at the 18nm node. Analysts warned that the development signaled a narrowing technology gap between Korea and China.
However, prosecutors now state that CXMT’s advance was built on stolen Samsung technology. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s IT Crime Investigation Division (Chief Prosecutor Kim Yoon-yong), three individuals, including Yang (former Samsung executive and CXMT development director), have been indicted and detained for using Samsung’s proprietary data to develop DRAM technology at CXMT.
Yang and his team—known within CXMT as the “second development team”—were tasked with validating stolen data and conducting manufacturing tests. In exchange, they were reportedly offered salaries up to KRW 3 billion (USD 2.2 million), roughly five times higher than their Samsung pay.
The initial leak was carried out by another former Samsung engineer, identified as Park, who allegedly copied hundreds of process steps into notebooks and passed them to CXMT. Park is currently subject to an Interpol Red Notice.
Samsung had invested KRW 1.6 trillion (USD 1.2 billion) in the technology, which was later exfiltrated. Prosecutors estimate that the leak of 16nm DRAM technology has already cost Samsung KRW 5 trillion (USD 3.6 billion) in lost revenue as of last year, with damages expected to rise to tens of trillions of won in the future.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
