LG is facing a major crisis after South Korean police launched an investigation into the suspected theft of its advanced TV display technology by Chinese operatives allegedly working for rival manufacturers. It has also been revealed that Samsung’s display technology has been leaked to China in a separate case.

The probe began after LG Display discovered that confidential display technology had been leaked overseas — the latest in a string of suspected industrial espionage incidents targeting South Korea’s display sector.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Industrial Technology Security Investigation Unit confirmed that on October 2, officers raided LG Display’s Paju plant in Gyeonggi Province. Investigators suspect two LG Display employees of illegally passing proprietary display data to a Chinese company, in violation of the Industrial Technology Protection Act.

During the raid, police reportedly seized hundreds of images from a suspect’s mobile phone, including photos of internal documents containing key manufacturing and design information related to LG Display’s core production processes.

Authorities said that South Korea recorded 27 cases of overseas technology leaks last year and eight in the first half of this year, with 25 of those linked to China.

Just a day before the LG raid, on October 1, police also searched Samsung Display’s Asan campus in South Chungcheong Province after uncovering evidence that its latest display technologies had been leaked to another Chinese firm. Investigators believe the two incidents involve different Chinese companies.

A senior police official warned that such leaks threaten the nation’s industrial competitiveness.

“The outflow of strategic national technologies abroad is a serious risk,” the official said. “We will intensify our investigations to stamp out advanced technology leaks.”