Ex-Samsung executives arrested for allegedly stealing tech for China

South Korean police have arrested two former Samsung Electronics Co. officials on suspicion of stealing technologies worth more than 4.3 trillion won ($3.2 billion) to build a copycat chipmaking plant in 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.