Former SK hynix chip engineer gets 1.5 years in prison for alleged IP theft
A Chinese national was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined ₩20 million ($14,400) for allegedly stealing semiconductor manufacturing technology from SK hynix, according to a South Korean court ruling.
The 36-year-old worked for the chipmaker from 2013 before being hired by Huawei in 2022, where her role initially included analyzing semiconductor defects before she moved into B2B customer relations.
According to court testimony, an investigation found that the employee printed out around 4,000 pages of SK hynix data regarding its semiconductor process. SK hynix held a ban on data storage devices for such purposes and keeps logs of printer use, it emerged.
The former employee argued it was for personal study and to facilitate a work handover, but the Suwon District Court did not accept the claim and this week found her guilty of violating the Industrial Technology Protection Act. The printed information was deemed core state technology at the time.
"It is unusual to print 4,000 pieces of related technical data on A4 paper for four days at SK hynix’s Shanghai branch, where security is poor, just before resignation,” the court reportedly stated.
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