South Korea enacted a new law on September 13 that significantly strengthens penalties for stealing sensitive technologies from major technology companies. Under the new rules, prosecutors can pursue individuals who obtain “national secrets” on behalf of any foreign country, rather than only for an “enemy state,” as under the previous law. Violations involving undisclosed information whose disclosure could threaten national security—including economic, scientific, and technological information—can carry prison sentences of up to 30 years. Industrial-espionage experts in Seoul describe the change as a shift toward treating technology theft as a matter of national economic security rather than merely corporate theft.
French media Les Echos reported, citing Seoul prosecutors, that an engineer identified as “J” copied by hand approximately 600 steps of Samsung Electronics’ memory-chip manufacturing process over four days in 2016 before joining China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT). He reportedly avoided using email, screenshots, or USB drives to prevent leaving a digital trail. South Korean prosecutors last December indicted 10 former Samsung employees, including J, over the suspected transfer of Samsung’s memory-chip manufacturing technology to CXMT.
South Korea’s semiconductor industry is particularly vulnerable to technology theft. Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and thousands of related companies make the country a global leader in memory chips, which accounted for more than 40 percent of South Korea’s exports in the first half of 2026. Police detected a record 33 technology-leakage cases in 2025, more than half involving China.
The report also notes that Taiwan has tightened laws and enforcement against industrial technology theft. Japan has strengthened foreign-investment screening and export controls involving strategic technologies, while also restructuring its intelligence infrastructure and considering the introduction of its first comprehensive anti-espionage law around 2027.
Source: Radio France International, September 14, 2026
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/中国/20260914-回声报-遭中国-窃取-科技机密，韩国强化其-反工业间谍-武器库