China yesterday confirmed the detention of a South Korean citizen suspected of espionage, saying it had advised embassy officials, without identifying the individual or detailing the charges.
It is the first time a South Korean national is being held under an expanded counterespionage law that took effect in July last year.
The case could deter investment and operations by South Korean firms in the country’s largest trade partner, following the departure of Japanese expatriates after a compatriot working for Astellas Pharma Inc faced similar charges.
Photo: AFP
It centers on a former employee of Samsung Electronics Co who then worked at a Chinese chip firm, the Yonhap news agency reported.
“The South Korean citizen was arrested by the Chinese authorities in accordance with the law on suspicion of espionage,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) told a regular news briefing in Beijing, without giving details.
The South Korean embassy in China had been notified, he added.
On Monday, Yonhap said the individual was suspected of leaking semiconductor-related information to South Korean authorities and was living in Hefei in China’s eastern province of Anhui when he was detained.
Major Chinese chip companies, such as ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc (長鑫存儲), are headquartered in the city.
Since Washington began banning export of cutting-edge foreign chips and chipmaking equipment to China in 2020, Beijing has invested billions of dollars in its domestic semiconductor industry to achieve a goal of self-sufficiency.
The tensions around the industry have made Beijing wary of information leaks, which it views as a national security threat.
The confirmation of the arrest also comes after tough measures by Seoul to prevent what it sees as the theft of semiconductor intellectual property by Chinese firms.
Choi Jin-seog, a former Samsung executive who ran a chipmaking venture in China, was detained by the Seoul Central District Court last month on fresh accusations regarding the theft of chip processing technology.
Choi had already been the subject of a high-profile industrial espionage trial since July last year that underscored South Korea’s efforts to fight industrial espionage and slow China’s progress in chipmaking. Choi has denied any wrongdoing.
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
EXPANSION: While Gigabyte Technology is optimistic about market demand this year, uncertainty remains due to the impact of potential US tariffs and currency fluctuations Motherboard and graphics card maker Gigabyte Technology Co (技嘉) yesterday said that it plans to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) server assembly line in the US in the second half of this year. The company’s core motherboard and graphics card businesses in the US remain stable, but sales of its higher-priced AI servers still hinge on the development of tariff policies, Gigabyte chairman Dandy Yeh (葉培城) told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taipei. Yeh was referring to the “reciprocal” tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on April 2, which were later postponed for 90 days. While Gigabyte
RSS