SEOUL - A former senior executive at Samsung Electronics Co. is facing further investigation over new allegations of leaking essential semiconductor technologies and human resources to China, according to officials. The executive was already indicted on charges related to the unauthorized use of factory blueprints and other confidential company information.
According to a news release by Yonhap News Agency, the former vice president of Samsung, along with a former senior Samsung researcher, a university professor, and seven others, are being investigated on charges of violating the industrial technology protection act.
The individual in question, who was previously involved in Samsung's semiconductor division, had initially been indicted for colluding with six others between 2018 and 2019 to illegally acquire and use blueprints and other business secrets belonging to Samsung.
Additional allegations have surfaced, accusing him of transferring Samsung's semiconductor manufacturing technologies to a semiconductor factory in Chengdu, China, since 2021. These technologies pertain to specific details like temperature and pressure in semiconductor production.
Moreover, the former executive is suspected of having sent hundreds of semiconductor production experts and engineers to Chinese factories through a headhunting firm that he had set up, according to police officials.
Law enforcement has searched the residences and offices of the accused parties and is currently conducting an internal investigation to ascertain whether the dispatch of human resources was linked to the suspected technology leak.
A police official noted, "We are currently in the initial stage of the investigation into the case. The number of suspects currently stands at 10, but it could rise down the road."