Document Leaks
As the global competition for semiconductor supremacy intensifies, Samsung Electronics has once again experienced an incident of core technology leakage.
According to industry sources on May 17th, the Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) Division recently dismissed Engineer A on the grounds of allegations of leaking documents containing crucial technology and has requested an investigation by the national authorities.
Engineer A was caught after sending dozens of important documents, including core semiconductor technology, to a personal external email account. Some of the data was then forwarded for secondary storage to another external email account.
In an unusual move related to this incident, Samsung Electronics is reported to have posted a comprehensive notice on its internal network. The notice included the current status of penalties for previous leakage incidents, the dismissal of Engineer A, and the request for an investigation. This action is seen as an attempt to raise awareness about the gravity of technology leakage.
Previously, Engineer B, who was preparing to move to an overseas company, was discovered storing hundreds of photos of his PC screen, which displayed critical data containing national core technology, at his residence during remote working time. Samsung Electronics requested an investigation into Engineer B. After criminal suspicions were confirmed, he was arrested and turned over for trial.
In the first trial, Engineer B was sentenced to one and a half years in prison, with a two-year suspension and a fine of 10 million won (US$7,470). However, the prosecution appealed, stating, "Given that he admitted to only a very small part of the suspicions and showed no remorse, he should be punished more severely." A second trial is underway.
Engineer C, who was preparing to move to a domestic partner company, was also caught storing thousands of photos of significant technical data displayed on his screen. Samsung also dismissed C and requested an investigation. C was sentenced to imprisonment by the court last month. The prosecution is appealing this verdict, arguing that the sentence is too lenient.
Earlier this year, seven former researchers from SEMES, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, were sentenced to prison for violating the Act on the Prevention and Protection of Industrial Technology. They were charged with illegally using SEMES' trade secrets, including the technology for manufacturing wet cleaning equipment for semiconductors. Using 24 designs they created, they manufactured 14 pieces of equipment worth 71 billion won (US$53 million), which they allegedly exported to Chinese competitors or semiconductor research institutes.