Technology Theft Punished
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced former SEMES employees to 18 months in prison for a violation of the Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology.
SEMES is a Samsung Electronics subsidiary, and the former employees worked for the company for over 10 years. According to the court, from March 2018 to December last year, they stole its technology and manufactured 14 semiconductor cleaners to sell the technology and equipment to China for 71 billion won.
SEMES manufactures semiconductor cleaners that remove contaminants generated in the process of semiconductor substrate pattern formation. Its equipment includes those using a sulfuric acid-containing high-temperature liquid for cleaning and those using four instead of two robot arms for faster cleaning.
The former employees produced equipment almost identical to those by stealing the company’s technology. A Chinese company invested in the production and they built a factory in Cheonan for the purpose. They also formed a joint venture in China to shift the technology across the border.