A former Samsung Electronics engineer accused of leaking semiconductor process information, classified as a national core technology, to a Chinese company has been indicted.
On the 2nd, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Information Technology Crime Investigation Bureau (Director General Ahn Dong-geon) announced that it has detained and indicted 55-year-old Jeon Mo for violating laws related to the prevention and protection of industrial technology leakage.
According to prosecutors, Jeon is accused of illegally leaking and using the 18-nanometer DRAM process information developed by Samsung Electronics at a cost of 1.6 trillion won after moving to the Chinese semiconductor manufacturer Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT). CXMT is the first DRAM semiconductor company established in China with an investment of 2.6 trillion won by a local Chinese government.
Earlier, the main perpetrator of this case, former Samsung Electronics Director General Kim Mo, was sentenced to seven years in prison and detained after being found guilty of illegally leaking Samsung Electronics DRAM process technology in a first trial in February. Jeon's charges were discovered by prosecutors during their investigation into Kim's allegations.
Prosecutors noted that Jeon played a key role in the crime by siphoning off Samsung Electronics' process technology during his transition to CXMT and establishing a DRAM semiconductor development plan for CWMT by recruiting core personnel.
The prosecution stated, "We are tracking another accomplice who leaked Samsung Electronics materials through Interpol," and asserted, "We will respond rigorously to technology leakage crimes that threaten the victim corporations and the national economy."