A court in Suwon, the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi Province in South Korea, sentenced a former Samsung Display engineer to six years in prison for leaking 340 billion won ($24.5 million) worth of OLED technology to China. The individual was found guilty of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act. The court emphasized the need for strict punishment to protect advanced technology and national interests.
The engineer, who worked at Samsung Display for over ten years, illegally obtained and attempted to sell proprietary technology to Chinese firms between 2018 and 2020. This included optical systems for excimer laser annealing (ELA) and OCR inkjets used in OLED production.
The engineer founded display companies in Korea and China, using the stolen technology in these ventures. Five accomplices, including three Samsung employees and two friends, were also indicted, with sentences ranging from one to two years or suspended sentences.
The convict turned themselves in last May after escaping to China for three years. The prosecution highlighted the significant loss to the nation and vowed to continue strict enforcement against industrial espionage.
