A former Samsung Electronics executive, who was arrested and indicted on charges of attempting to replicate an entire Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory and establish it in China, has been additionally indicted for unlawfully acquiring and using trade secrets from Samsung Display and Samsung Engineering.
According to the legal community on the 20th, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Defense Industry and Industrial Technology Crime Investigation Division (Chief Prosecutor Park Jin-sung) recently filed additional charges against Mr. A, a former Samsung Electronics executive, for violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Act (including unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets abroad). Co-conspirators, former Samsung Display employee Mr. B and a Samsung Electronics partner company employee Mr. C, were also indicted on the same charges.
Mr. A and Mr. B are accused of unlawfully using the Samsung Engineering ultrapure water system operation manual, which qualifies as a trade secret, and unlawfully acquiring and using Samsung Display’s ultrapure water system order specifications during the construction of a semiconductor factory in Xi'an, China, from August 2018 to April 2019. Ultrapure water is high-purity industrial water used to clean byproducts and contaminants from semiconductor surfaces.
Mr. C is accused of leaking materials, including the gas supply system schematic of the Pyeongtaek semiconductor factory, which are trade secrets of Samsung Electronics, to Mr. B.
The prosecution believes that Mr. A instructed employees of his company D to "secure and study Samsung Electronics materials," directing them to acquire and use factory construction materials, and that he reviewed and approved the ultrapure water operation manual order specifications prepared using these materials.
Previously, Mr. A was arrested and indicted on charges of unlawfully acquiring and using Samsung Electronics trade secrets such as the semiconductor factory BED (Basic Engineering Data), process layout, and factory design drawings. Investigations revealed that Mr. A attempted to establish a "replica factory" in Xi'an, China, modeled after the Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory using these materials.
During the trial held in the afternoon before Judge Lee Ji-yeon of the Suwon District Court Criminal Division 14, Mr. A denied all the newly added charges. Subsequently, Mr. A’s defense requested bail, stating, "The defendant has cooperated sincerely with the investigation and is currently prohibited from leaving the country. To ensure the right to defense, we ask that the defendant be allowed to stand trial without detention." The court will decide on the bail request at a later date.
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