South Korean chip executive detained again over alleged technology leak to China

A South Korean executive accused of stealing semiconductor information developed by Samsung Electronics has been detained again on fresh allegations related to the theft of chip processing technology, a court official and his lawyer said on Friday.

The Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant to detain Choi Jinseog on Thursday due to concerns he was a flight risk, said a court official, who declined to provide further details.

Choi, a former Samsung executive who ran a chipmaking venture in China, has already been the subject of a high-profile industrial espionage trial since July 2023 and was arrested and released on bail last November. He has rejected those charges.

He now faces new allegations of being involved in stealing information related to 20-nanometre DRAM chip processing from Samsung, Kim Pilsung, Choi’s lawyer, told Reuters.

Kim said his client denied any wrongdoing and the information he is accused of stealing is publicly available.

Choi has not been indicted over the new allegations, his lawyer said.

Samsung declined to comment.

In a case that underscores South Korea’s efforts to crack down on industrial espionage and slow China’s progress in chip manufacturing, Choi was indicted in June 2023, accused of seeking to build a copycat chip factory in China with sensitive information developed by Samsung.

The award-winning engineer was once seen as a star in South Korea’s chip industry.

After being freed on bail, Choi told Reuters in April that police were investigating him and one of his former employees, an ex-Samsung worker, over fresh allegations related to Samsung’s chip processing technology.