Plan to Steal Samsung Technology Exposed in Court

In South Korea, a court case regarding the misappropriation of developments from the local technology giant Samsung by the Chinese memory chip manufacturer CXMT has been enriched with new details. Citing court documents released by NoCut News, investigative authorities Project Hefei are reportedly examining a secret document named. This project contained a plan by the Chinese company to acquire DRAM technologies, hire former Korean experts, and rapidly launch its own production. This was reported by Ixbt.com reporting states.

According to the prosecution's version, this document was developed in August 2016, just a few months after CXMT was founded. According to investigative data, as early as September of that year, the company aimed to access the Process Recipe Plan (PRP) database, which contained detailed technological documents for Samsung's DRAM production. By October, it was planned to lure key engineers from the South Korean manufacturer.

Technological Process and Document Exchange

The indictment states that the PRP documents cover about 620 technological operations, including information on equipment, consumables, and production processes. Initially, CXMT tried to replicate the 18-nanometer technological process based on the experience of former Samsung employees, but this was not enough. After obtaining internal documents, the company developed its own production plan with specific suppliers and equipment models.

The prosecution also claims that the documents were distributed among specialists who previously worked at Samsung. It was found that the materials retained internal marks and comments characteristic of the South Korean company's corporate documents. Within the framework of this high-profile case, a former Samsung researcher named Jeon became one of the key witnesses. He had previously been sentenced to seven years in prison for manually copying parts of technological documents before moving to CXMT.

Industry Competition and Court Proceedings

The court proceedings regarding these technological leaks have been ongoing in South Korea since 2024 and have already led to several convictions. This case is attracting particular attention against the backdrop of the rapid development of the Chinese company CXMT. Founded in 2016 in Hefei, China, the enterprise quickly mastered the production of DDR4 memory and has now become one of the main competitors to global giants like Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron.

It is worth noting that Project Hefei, the volume of transferred technologies, and all claims regarding the estimated damage suffered by Samsung are currently only the position of the South Korean prosecution and the ongoing court materials. A final court verdict on these episodes has not yet been announced.