Former Samsung Executives and Employees Charged Over Alleged 10nm DRAM Trade Secret Leak to China’s CXMT
South Korean prosecutors have charged multiple former Samsung executives and employees over allegations that critical 10nm class DRAM know how was illegally transferred to China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies, also known as CXMT, a case that reinforces how talent mobility and process knowledge can become an enterprise level security vulnerability for the memory supply chain.
According to reporting from The Elec, the Information Technology Crime Investigation Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office arrested a current CXMT director for alleged violations under South Korea’s Industrial Technology Protection Act. The report states the director is a former Samsung employee who allegedly played a key role in CXMT’s 10nm DRAM development. Prosecutors also arrested 4 additional individuals currently working at CXMT.
The prosecutors’ narrative, as described in the report, is that CXMT built a structured hiring and information acquisition plan to accelerate its 10nm DRAM process by recruiting key talent and capturing trade secret level manufacturing steps. Authorities reportedly found that a former Samsung employee leaked hundreds of process steps and helped correct and verify the information, which prosecutors claim contributed to China’s first successfully mass produced DRAM in 2023. The investigation also alleges a front company was used to lure and hire former Samsung employees, creating a recruitment pipeline that doubled as an intelligence pipeline.
This case lands in a market context where DRAM process leadership is both technically demanding and economically high stakes. The reporting notes that Samsung invested 1.6 trillion won, about $1.08 billion, across 5 years to develop its 10nm DRAM technology. It also notes how competitive the 10nm class DRAM race is, pointing to SK hynix entering mass production under its sixth generation 10nm DRAM process by the end of 2024, as covered by The Korea Herald.
Prosecutors also stated that CXMT, described as China’s first DRAM semiconductor company, received 2.6 trillion won in local government investment and allegedly used core South Korean semiconductor technology throughout its development process. The authorities estimate the damage to South Korea’s competitive position in memory now runs into the trillions of won, meaning multi billion dollar level impact.
The charges also follow an earlier high profile leak case involving 18nm DRAM trade secrets linked to CXMT, where a former Samsung team manager was sentenced to 7 years in prison in February 2025, underscoring a broader enforcement trend and a clear message from South Korean authorities that memory process IP is being treated as national strategic technology.
From a forward looking industry lens, this is less about 1 company and more about structural risk. Memory manufacturing advantage is built on thousands of interconnected steps, and when that knowledge moves outside authorized channels, the result is not just lost R and D spend. It can reshape the competitive map, accelerate rival roadmaps, and change pricing pressure across DDR5 and advanced memory segments that power everything from AI servers to enthusiast gaming PCs.
Do you think the memory industry needs stricter controls on employee movement and process documentation, or would that hurt innovation by making hiring and collaboration too restrictive?
