Senior prosecutors in charge of investigating technology leak crimes visited Samsung Electronics’ (005930.KS) core semiconductor production base. The visit aims to directly hear from victim companies and enhance investigative expertise as leaks of core technologies in the semiconductor sector continue to emerge.
According to legal circles on Thursday, senior prosecutors overseeing technology leak investigations visited Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek Campus in mid-last month. Participants included Jang Hye-young, head of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Scientific Investigation Department; Jung Woo-joon, head of the Cyber and Technology Crime Investigation Division; Kim Seok-hoon, head of the Digital Investigation Division; and Park Kyung-taek, head of the Technology and Information Crime Investigation Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek Campus is the world’s largest semiconductor production hub, covering a total area of 2.89 million square meters (about 870,000 pyeong). It houses memory chip lines for DRAM and NAND flash, as well as foundry (contract chip manufacturing) lines. After touring the production lines, the prosecutors listened to on-site views on technology leak crimes. The visit reportedly took place after Samsung Electronics accepted the prosecution’s request, citing the need to understand semiconductor processes and technology structures for effective investigations.
Samsung Electronics’ Pyeongtaek campus. Photo courtesy of Samsung Electronics
The prosecution has recently expanded its contacts with corporate sites to strengthen its response to technology leak crimes. In October 2024, senior officials at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and prosecutors handling technology leak cases at district offices nationwide visited Hyundai Motor’s (005380.KS) Namyang Research Institute to examine the state of automotive technology leaks. Last year, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office also invited researchers from major companies including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor to hold special lectures on technology.
Leaks of cutting-edge technologies such as semiconductors are increasing each year. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, 138 technologies were leaked overseas from 2020 to June last year, including 33 national core technologies and 105 industrial technologies. Estimated damages reached 23.27 trillion won ($17 billion). Among them, semiconductor technology leaks numbered 52 cases, the most among major industries.
The prosecution is also specializing its investigative system. In September 2022, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office established the “Technology Leak Crime Investigation Support Center” and transferred related work previously handled by the Anti-Corruption and Violent Crime Department to a dedicated unit. Front-line offices have deployed specialized personnel, including licensed patent attorneys and prosecutors with science and engineering backgrounds. According to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, technology leak crime cases rose from 230 in 2021 to 348 in 2022 and 379 in 2023. Indicted suspects also rose from 17 in 2020 to more than 50 in 2024.
Samsung Electronics has repeatedly been named as a victim in domestic technology leak cases. On the 9th of last month, the Technology and Information Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office indicted six people, including a former Samsung Electronics employee who handed over Samsung’s patent analysis materials to a non-practicing entity (NPE) in exchange for $1 million (about 1.5 billion won), along with the NPE’s CEO and employees. Late last year, after a two-year investigation, the prosecution sent 10 former executives and employees to trial on charges of leaking the national core technology of 10-nanometer (one billionth of a meter) class DRAM, which Samsung Electronics developed for the first time in the world, to China’s Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT).
“Technology leak crimes make it difficult to secure evidence and challenging to calculate the scale of damages, so a deep understanding of the technology determines the success or failure of investigations,” a prosecution official said.