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Looks like South Korea isn’t going easy on the issue of "technology transfer" to rival countries, as a district court there has slammed a former Samsung employee with a severe punishment for leaking chip secrets to CXMT.
China’s CXMT Lands in Hot Water After Ex-Samsung Employee Shares 18nm Secrets, Leading to Stiff Penalties
China’s CXMT, recognized as a top name in the local memory manufacturing scene, seemingly advanced its DRAM process in a rather dubious manner. Sedaily reports that South Korea’s Central District Court has handed down a sentence to a former Samsung team manager for spilling trade secrets to CXMT. These secrets evidently accelerated the Chinese company’s DRAM technology development. The court’s statement highlights the gravity of the situation:
A considerable chunk of the charges stem from Samsung Electronics unlawfully obtaining and then revealing, leaking, and utilizing data on the 18nm DRAM process, which is deemed a national core technology.
When you consider the investments Samsung Electronics made to successfully build and mass-produce 18nm DRAM products, the financial hit they’ve endured is undoubtedly colossal.
It’s been suggested that the Samsung employee passed on crucial documents related to the company’s 18nm process to CXMT. Due to this individual’s actions, South Korea’s cutting-edge semiconductor technique ended up in the hands of Chinese competitors. Samsung poured not just money but valuable time into these sophisticated processes. The significance of chips like the 18nm marks them as pivotal to industry advancement, so their dissemination to China has elevated this issue to a matter of national security in South Korea.
Recently, we covered how China’s CXMT is gearing up to challenge Samsung in the memory sector. Rumors are swirling about its work on DDR5 technology, and it’s already launched products in local markets. Manufacturers like MSI are starting to embrace CXMT modules, indicating its growing influence. Before long, we might see it face off with industry giants in the memory manufacturing race.
Did this breach offer CXMT the springboard it needed to dive into the memory markets? Although that remains uncertain, it undeniably represents a significant setback for Samsung. The harsh sentence underscores the severe nature of such crimes not only in South Korea but around the world.
