[Exclusive] First-Ever Urgent Arrest for Attempting to Leak 'World's Best' Semiconductor Capillary Technology to China

Capillary Manufacturing Technology in Semiconductor Packaging
Man Attempting to Leak to China Arrested Just Before Departure at Gimpo Airport
"National Awareness of Technology Leakage Growing;
Urgent Arrest Shows Severity of the Issue"

A man in his 40s, referred to as Mr. A, was urgently arrested just before leaving the country for attempting to transfer "capillary" manufacturing technology?a core technology in semiconductor packaging processes?to China. This marks the first time that South Korean judicial authorities have urgently arrested a suspect for "technology leakage." Analysts interpret this as a reflection of the growing recognition of industrial technology protection as a pressing national issue.

According to legal and semiconductor industry sources on the 26th, Mr. A was caught by police while attempting to leak the "capillary" manufacturing technology he had learned while working at domestic semiconductor component company B to China. Capillaries are essential equipment required in the "packaging" stage, one of the final steps in semiconductor assembly. They are used in the "wire bonding" process, which connects semiconductor chips and substrates with thin metal wires. The capillary is a tool that precisely connects the chip and lead terminals with wire during this process. Major domestic semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also use B's capillaries to manufacture high-performance semiconductors, such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Company B is known as a world-leading manufacturer of capillaries.

The Industrial Technology Security Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency recently urgently arrested Mr. A at Gimpo Airport just before his departure, as he was attempting to leak this technology to China. This is considered the first case in which a suspect accused of technology leakage has been detained through urgent arrest. Under the Criminal Procedure Act, urgent arrest allows prosecutors or police to detain a suspect without a warrant if the suspect has committed a serious crime and there is a risk of evidence destruction or flight. Leaking domestic technology abroad is also classified as a serious crime under the "Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act," punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 100 million won, and is subject to urgent arrest. However, authorities have typically been passive in technology leakage cases.

This case was different. Police, who had been monitoring Mr. A's movements, received intelligence that he had gone to the airport to leave for China. They immediately sought cooperation from relevant agencies, including the National Intelligence Service, airport police, and the airline. While the police were en route, Asiana Airlines, the carrier Mr. A was boarding, reportedly delayed takeoff by about eight minutes for various reasons. Subsequently, an in-flight announcement was made to prompt Mr. A to disembark, and arriving police officers urgently arrested him. The police brought Mr. A to the station to investigate the circumstances of his attempted departure and whether technology leakage had occurred, and three days later, they requested and obtained an arrest warrant from the Seoul Central District Court. After approximately two more weeks of investigation, the police transferred Mr. A to the prosecution while he remained in custody.

A legal industry official stated, "This urgent arrest is an achievement resulting from the concerted efforts of relevant agencies amid heightened national awareness regarding technology leakage." However, the official also noted, "The fact that an urgent arrest became necessary is proof of how severe the technology leakage problem has become in South Korea." An industry insider commented, "Since the matter is under police investigation, we are closely monitoring the situation," and added, "We are responding to increasingly sophisticated technology leakage attempts with our own internal precision systems."