An ex-Samsung Display researcher has been charged and arrested for allegedly leaking trade OLED secrets to China.
The unnamed accused voluntarily left China to appear in front of a South Korean court to answer against accusations of violating antitrust laws by sharing confidential information.
The 49-year-old allegedly cooperated with other researchers to steal OLED technologies from Samsung Display and transfer them to his businesses in South Korea and China.
The technologies stolen included OLED excimer laser annealing equipment and optically clean resin inkjet machinery, which the accused attempted to sell from 2018-2020.
The accused had worked for Samsung Display for over ten years and oversaw the equipment-related areas.
Later, he joined a Chinese display company, which was not identified by the prosecutors, and worked mainly in China.
The prosecutors said they launched the investigation based on a National Intelligence Service tip, the South Korean equivalent of the CIA.
The accused escaped to China, while his five accomplices were found guilty and sentenced by the Supreme Court in November 2021.
The prosecutors projected the value of the trade secrets at around $474 million and claimed that the businesses in South Korea and China gained from the leak.
