South Korean engineer smuggled out shopping bags full of secret SK hynix docs to give to Huawei

A former employee of SK hynix was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined ₩20 million ($14,300) for stealing critical semiconductor technology before moving to Huawei, reports the Korea Biz Wire. The court found her guilty of breaching South Korea’s laws on industrial technology protection. However, the lax sentence indicates that prosecutors have failed to prove that Huawei had received the confidential information.

The defendant had worked at SK Hynix since 2013, beginning in chip defect analysis. In 2020, she became a team leader in business-to-business customer relations at the company’s subsidiary in China. Her tenure provided access to sensitive technical documents essential to chip production. Then, in 2020, she decided to move on to Huawei (which pays a lot). But before resigning from SK hynix, the defendant printed approximately 4,000 pages of highly sensitive documents over four days.

These documents contained specific ‘solutions to semiconductor manufacturing process issues,’ considered core technology under South Korean law. She allegedly printed around 300 pages per day and concealed them in her backpack and shopping bags to avoid detection.

The Yeoju branch of the Suwon District Court ruled that her actions violated South Korea’s Industrial Technology Protection Act. While she had argued that she printed the documents only for study and to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities upon leaving, the court found her claims unconvincing.

In its ruling, the court observed that her behavior was highly suspicious, mainly as she printed the materials shortly before leaving SK hynix and accepted a higher-paying role at Huawei in June 2022. The court suggested that her intent was likely to use these materials to increase her value in the new position.

Despite these findings, the court handed down a relatively light sentence. The decision was influenced by the lack of direct evidence proving that the stolen technology had been used to justify a harsher punishment. Furthermore, SK hynix did not report any specific financial or operational damage from the incident.

The court’s sentence also considered the robust security protocols SK hynix maintains. The company prohibits using USB drives or other external storage devices and closely monitors all printed material by recording content, user information, and intended use. However, the court noted that the Shanghai office’s security appeared less rigorous, potentially allowing her actions to go undetected initially.