Overview
- Seoul prosecutors charged 10 people, detaining five and indicting five without detention, including former Samsung staff and CXMT development team members.
- Officials allege a former Samsung employee hand‑copied hundreds of steps from the 10‑nanometer‑class DRAM process and transferred the material to CXMT.
- Prosecutors describe covert tactics such as a shell company, frequent office moves and coded language to move proprietary information out of South Korea.
- CXMT is also accused of obtaining DRAM process technology from SK hynix via a subcontractor in June 2020, giving it access to multiple state‑designated core technologies.
- Authorities cite Samsung’s five‑year, 1.6 trillion won investment in its 10‑nm process and estimate a 2024 revenue hit of about 5 trillion won, with national losses in the tens of trillions; industry reporting says CXMT’s late‑2025 output could reach roughly 280,000 wafers per month.