SEOUL, December 26, 2025 – Prosecutors in South Korea have indicted 10 people, including former Samsung Electronics employees, for allegedly stealing advanced 10-nanometer DRAM manufacturing processes and transferring them to Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), enabling the firm to produce cutting-edge memory chips domestically.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office announced the charges on Tuesday, accusing the group of violating the Industrial Technology Protection Act. Five suspects, including a former Samsung executive and engineers, are in custody; the others were indicted without detention.
Investigators said one defendant manually copied hundreds of proprietary steps—covering equipment details, sequencing, and yield optimization—to evade digital detection.
The leaked technology, developed by Samsung for 1.6 trillion won ($1.1 billion), was adapted for CXMT’s equipment, allowing mass production of 10-nm DRAM in 2023—China’s first—and laying the foundations for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI accelerators. Prosecutors estimate damages to South Korean companies in the tens of trillions of won.
CXMT, preparing a Shanghai listing at a potential $42 billion valuation, unveiled its latest DDR5 DRAM last month, challenging Samsung and SK Hynix’s dominance. The case also involves the alleged acquisition of SK Hynix data through a supplier.
Samsung, SK Hynix, and CXMT declined to comment.
The indictment is part of eight similar probes opened in South Korea this year, five targeting China, amid U.S. export controls and Beijing’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency.
As AI demand drives memory innovation, the case highlights risks to intellectual property in a tightly contested global market.
