One night, the lights in the Samsung Electronics semiconductor research building stayed on late as usual. That was the day when researcher A's hands grew unusually busy. On the monitor was "10-nanometer-class DRAM process information." He knew well that the moment he copied the file or plugged in a USB, everything could end. A chose the most primal method. Pressing the pen tip to write in tiny letters, he carefully began transcribing line by line.
A DRAM manufacturing process that reaches 600 steps. This material, which contains each process name, equipment information, and even setpoints, is called a "PRP (Process Recipe Plan)" in the industry. It was the core of the core, not easily obtained with money or time. A wrote it down little by little whenever he had the chance.
What he used was an ordinary notebook issued to employees by Samsung Electronics. On the surface it looked like a work memo and naturally evaded the security desk's suspicion. He smuggled out the most dangerous information in the most ordinary guise. However, now a special paper containing metallic material is used, allowing detection by the security desk when taken off-site.
After some time, A handed the notebook to B, a former Samsung Electronics Director General who in 2016 was working as head of development at Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT). Unlike design, semiconductor process technology is not an area that can be secured in a short period simply by recruiting talent. It is an accumulated technology that improves production yield by running mass production for years to fix errors and raise yields. The success or failure of a startup chipmaker is also determined not by design but by process technology. A prosecution official said, "The leaked notebook is substantial in volume," and "It was carried out in a very meticulous way."
◇ 10-nanometer DRAM technology leaked after $1.6 trillion won investment... on a spy-movie level
According to investigative agencies on the 25th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Information Technology Crime Investigation Department (chief prosecutor Kim Yunyong) on the 23rd indicted five people with ties to Samsung Electronics' former executives who were involved in 10-nanometer-class chip development at CXMT, and indicted without detention five others including development leads by part.
The notebook that Samsung Electronics issued to employees for work ultimately became a "textbook" for making state-of-the-art DRAM. Samsung Electronics invested 1.6 trillion won over five years to mass-produce 10-nanometer-class DRAM. Founded in May 2016, CXMT received about 2.6 trillion won in investment from local governments under China's strategy to build up its memory chip capabilities.
According to the prosecution, CXMT subsequently began full-scale DRAM development by additionally recruiting personnel from Samsung Electronics based on the leaked materials. In this process, it was found to have additionally secured technology related to SK hynix's semiconductor processes through a partner company. The investigation found that CXMT received core technology from SK hynix in return for supplying expensive semiconductor equipment to a partner firm where many former SK hynix employees were working.
In this way, CXMT succeeded in developing 10-nanometer-class DRAM in 2023, seven years after its founding. It is now also moving to develop High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which stacks DRAM vertically. The prosecution believes that last year's estimated decline in sales at Samsung Electronics from this technology leak alone amounts to 5 trillion won, and that the total damage to the national economy will reach tens of trillions of won.
Through handwriting analysis, prosecutors identified A, who transcribed and leaked the process technology. A comparison between CXMT materials and Samsung Electronics materials confirmed a 98.2% match.
A was in charge of recruiting engineers at CXMT. They systematically recruited people who had caused problems and left Samsung Electronics, or those who had accrued years of service and retired and were briefly working as professors. To secure talent, CXMT offered exceptional terms. It paid two to four times the annual salary at the time of leaving Samsung Electronics, and promised up to 3 billion won to development-head-level talent. Even just signing a contract brought a signing bonus equal to one year's salary, and housing support and international school education for children were provided.
Before joining Changxin Memory, B was found to have evaded Samsung Electronics' noncompete clause with competitors and surveillance by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) by disguising employment as if at a Chinese fertilizer plant.
◇ Code of conduct: send "♥♥♥♥" if caught... staying in China despite a red notice
Prosecutors determined that they systematically committed technology leaks by setting up shell companies and frequently relocating offices, while sharing internal guidelines such as "Always act assuming the National Intelligence Service is around you." It was found that they also set their own code of conduct, such as sending "four hearts (♥♥♥♥)" to alert colleagues in emergencies like an exit ban or arrest.
When entering China, they transited through a nearby city rather than the one where the plant is located; for messaging they used WeChat, and for email they used Baidu services. A prosecution official said, "In other serious crimes we sometimes see (codes of conduct), but such meticulous methods are unusual in a technology leak case."
A has now been staying in China for 10 years. The Korean government has already invalidated A's passport, but the Chinese government is said to be extending the visa even while aware of the Interpol red notice.
Korea and China signed an extradition treaty in 2000 that took effect in Apr. 2002, but Chinese cooperation is known to be less than smooth even in ordinary cases. Prosecutors see the likelihood of Chinese cooperation with Korean investigative authorities as low in this case as well.
A prosecution official said, "From our perspective they are criminals who stole national funds, but from China's perspective they may be people who helped," adding, "The very situation in which their stay continues to be allowed, despite the principle of handing over custody, is proof that cooperation is not happening." The official added, "We will do our utmost to sustain the indictment so that the defendants receive sentences commensurate with their crimes."