On December 23, South Korean prosecutors announced the indictment of ten individuals accused of leaking advanced semiconductor technologies from leading South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to China.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Information Technology Crime Investigation Division said it had arrested and formally charged five individuals, including a former employee of the global memory chip leader Samsung Electronics, on charges of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and the Industrial Technology Protection Act. The charges include the overseas leakage of trade secrets and nationally designated core technologies.

An additional five individuals, including research and development managers affiliated with China-based memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), were indicted without detention on similar charges. CXMT is a Chinese semiconductor company focused on DRAM production.

According to prosecutors, a former Samsung Electronics employee, identified as A, joined CXMT as a development division head and actively recruited key personnel to acquire 10-nanometer-class DRAM process technologies. Prosecutors allege that a Samsung Electronics researcher, identified as B, transferred critical process information to CXMT.

Investigators further determined that CXMT obtained additional semiconductor technologies from the global memory supplier SK Hynix through intermediary partner companies, including firms supplying high-value semiconductor equipment to SK Hynix. These intermediaries allegedly provided CXMT with sensitive 10-nanometer-class DRAM technologies.

Prosecutors stated that CXMT successfully achieved China's first mass production of 10-nanometer-class DRAM in 2023 by leveraging South Korean semiconductor technologies. Based on Samsung Electronics' decline in sales last year, authorities estimate the company's direct losses at approximately 5 trillion won, with broader economic damage potentially reaching tens of trillions of won.

"The investigation uncovered the full scope of technology development crimes conducted both domestically and in China," the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said in a statement. "We will continue to respond firmly to industrial technology leakage that threatens national economic interests and technological security."