www.trendforce.com, Oct. 09, 2025 –
As competition in the semiconductor industry intensifies, cases of technology leaks are on the rise, involving everything from the most advanced chip nodes to cutting-edge memory. Recent incidents have highlighted major firms, including Samsung, SK hynix, and TSMC, facing allegations of trade secret theft and industrial espionage. Here’s a quick takeaway on the key cases and developments.
Samsung: Alleged DRAM Technology Leak Boosts China’s Ambitions
According to SeDaily, a former Samsung executive and three researchers were indicted and detained on October 1, for allegedly transferring core 18nm DRAM technology to China. After leaving Samsung, they reportedly joined CXMT as key members of its “Phase 2 Development Team,” using illegally obtained Samsung know-how to complete the company’s development.
SeDaily suggests the leaked technology involves Samsung’s latest 10nm-class DRAM process, developed with an investment of 1.6 trillion won. As per Business Korea, Samsung is estimated to have lost around 5 trillion won in sales last year due to this incident, with potential future damages expected to reach at least tens of trillions of won.
High earnings may be one of the motives. The reports further indicate that the individuals received salaries of 1.5–3 billion won—3–5 times their Samsung pay—over 4–6 years for their work at CXMT.
As SeDaily notes, CXMT was founded with a 2.6 trillion won investment from the local government and initially focused on older DRAM products due to limited technology. However, the company significantly boosted its market share with the mass production of 18nm DRAM and is now targeting the high-value DRAM market—including DDR5 and LPDDR5, the report adds.