A former SK hynix employee was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $14,300 for stealing important technology before she joined Huawei.
The court found the woman guilty of violating South Korea’s industrial technology protection laws. The lenient sentence indicates that prosecutors were unable to prove that Huawei received confidential information.
The defendant had been working for SK Hynix since 2013, starting as a chip defect analyst. In 2020, she became the head of the B2B customer relations team at the subsidiary in China. Her position provided access to confidential technical documentation required for chip manufacturing. In 2020, she decided to move to Huawei for a higher salary. Before she left SK hynix, the defendant printed approximately 4000 pages of highly confidential documents in four days.
These documents contained specific «solutions to problems in the semiconductor manufacturing process» which are considered core technology under South Korean law. The woman printed about 300 pages a day and hid them in her backpack and bags to avoid detection.
The court ruled that these actions violated South Korea’s Industrial Technology Protection Act. The defendant claimed that she printed the documents only for training and to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities after her dismissal, but the court found her explanation unconvincing.
In its decision, the court noted that the woman’s behavior was highly suspicious, mainly because she printed the materials shortly before she left SK hynix and accepted a high-paying position at Huawei in June 2022. The court assumed that she intended to use the stolen data to increase her value in her new position.
The lenient decision was influenced by the lack of direct evidence that the stolen technology was used. In addition, SK hynix did not report any specific financial or operational losses from the incident.
SK hynix prohibits the use of USB drives or other external storage devices and closely monitors all printed materials, recording content, user information and instances of use. However, the court noted that security at the Shanghai office was less stringent, potentially allowing the defendant to remain undetected.
Sources: The Korea Bizwire, Tom’s Hardware