A Suwon court has sentenced a former Samsung Display engineer to six years in prison for leaking OLED technology valued at approximately 340 billion won ($24.5 million) to China. The court found the ex-researcher guilty of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act.
The former Samsung engineer, who had been out on bail while awaiting trial, was taken into custody immediately following the court’s ruling. The court emphasized the gravity of the offense, noting that the accused had exploited technology that Samsung had invested heavily in developing over many years.Â
Judge Ha Sang-je stated that such misuse of advanced technology necessitates a severe penalty to safeguard national technological assets.
The researcher, indicted in October of last year, was found guilty of illegally acquiring optical systems for excimer laser annealing (ELA) technology and OCR inkjet technology used in Samsung’s OLED displays. Between 2018 and 2020, he was accused of selling this sensitive technology to Chinese firms. The ELA technology is crucial for maintaining stability and safety in OLED displays, and its trade secrets were estimated to be worth at least 340 billion won.
The former employee, an OLED specialist with over a decade of experience at Samsung Display, established his own display companies in both Korea and China after leaving the conglomerate. He was found to have transferred Samsung’s OLED technology to his domestic company and attempted to sell it to Chinese companies through his ventures in China. It included recruiting former colleagues and associates to illegally transfer trade secrets.
Judge Ha emphasized that the former engineer’s actions harmed Samsung and threatened the integrity of the country’s high-tech sector. The court ruled that no mitigating circumstances were sufficient to warrant a suspension of the sentence, underscoring the need for stringent measures to protect valuable technological innovations.
The court found that the former engineer had recruited former subordinates, juniors, and acquaintances to assist in illegally transferring Samsung’s trade secrets. These individuals provided sensitive information to the domestic company, where the technology was duplicated. Five accomplices, indicted in August 2020, included three former Samsung Display employees who were sentenced to one to two years in prison and two friends who received suspended sentences.
The former engineer, who fled to China, turned himself in last May. After a three-year escape, he was apprehended in September, leading to the resumption of the investigation. The prosecution highlighted the severe impact of his actions, noting that the misuse of Samsung’s advanced technology resulted in losses for both the company and the nation.
The prosecution condemned the defendant’s actions as a serious breach of trust and a threat to the country’s technological and economic interests. They emphasized that the technology, which had been developed through investment, was wrongfully exploited for personal gain, warranting a stringent penalty.
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