A former Samsung Electronics Director General, who was indicted while in custody on charges of leaking semiconductor process information and other national core technologies to a Chinese company, was sentenced to six years in prison in the second trial. In the first trial, he received a seven-year sentence, but this was reduced by one year.
On the 23rd, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 8 (presided over by Director General Kim Sung-soo) sentenced a person surnamed Kim to six years in prison and a fine of 200 million won for violating the law on the prevention and protection of industrial technology leaks.
The court noted regarding Mr. Kim's charges, "The significant damage to the victim companies is inevitable and this constitutes a serious crime that adversely affects the country. He led the crime, and there is no possibility for recovery from the damage, so a severe punishment commensurate with this is necessary."
However, the court stated, "Mr. Kim has no prior criminal record, and after being dismissed from his company, he appears to have been forced to work for a Chinese corporation as it became difficult to find reemployment in Korea, leading to his crimes. Considering that he was not involved in leaking Samsung Electronics' core technology, a lower sentence than the original judgment is imposed."
In February, the first trial court sentenced Mr. Kim to seven years in prison and a fine of 200 million won, stating, "This is a serious crime that not only significantly hinders fair competition and wastes the immense time and expenses of the victim companies but can also have a great negative impact on the competitive strength of the national industry of South Korea." The seven-year sentence was the highest penalty among first trial verdicts for technology leak crimes.
Subsequently, Mr. Kim's side appealed, saying, "I never directed or conspired to leak semiconductor technology." The prosecution also appealed, arguing that the first trial sentence was too lenient. However, the second trial court did not accept either argument.
Mr. Kim is accused of unlawfully leaking 18-nanometer DRAM semiconductor process information from Samsung Electronics to be used in product development by the Chinese semiconductor manufacturer Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT). CXMT is the only DRAM producer in China. The prosecution has determined that CXMT exceeded technical barriers by improperly acquiring information from Samsung Electronics through Mr. Kim.
The prosecution believes Mr. Kim leaked core semiconductor information upon joining CXMT in 2016 and received bribes amounting to hundreds of millions of won. Additionally, it has been identified that he lured away more than 20 personnel from Samsung Electronics and its affiliates by offering high salaries.