Chip war: former Samsung executives arrested for allegedly stealing tech for China

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Tuesday described how the pair had collaborated with local Chinese officials to build a semiconductor facility. One of the two, identified as a 66-year-old surnamed Choi, recruited South Korean chip experts and leaked Samsung memory technologies via a joint venture, the police said in a statement.

They did not offer time frames, or identify the Chinese location. But some of the details mirrored those from a case that first came to light in 2023, as tensions escalated between Beijing and Washington over sanctions aimed at China’s chip sector. In that instance, a former Samsung executive was arrested for allegedly stealing blueprints to try and replicate an entire fabrication plant in China.

On Tuesday, Seoul police described what it called a serious security violation perpetrated through a Chinese joint venture, Chengdu Gaozhen. Choi served as the venture’s chief and was aided by a plant designer surnamed Oh, police said in their statement.