South Korea indicts group for leaking Samsung display tech to Chinese firm
29/11/2018 10:28
SEOUL, Nov 29 (Reuters) - South Korean prosecutors on
Thursday said they have indicted nine people on suspicion of
leaking Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 005930.KS flexible display
technology to a Chinese company.
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office has charged the chief
executive and eight employees of supplier Toptec Co Ltd
108230.KQ for selling information earlier this year about
Samsung's organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels.
The group are accused of forming a separate shell company
that received information on the use of equipment and drawings
of panels obtained from Samsung subsidiary Samsung Display, and
which sold some of the documents in China for 15.5 billion won
($13.85 million), the prosecutors office said.
Toptec, which produces automated equipment to make mobile
phone display panels, denied any wrongdoing.
"Our company has never provided Samsung Display's industrial
technology or business secrets to a Chinese client. Our company
will fully cooperate with legal proceedings to find the truth in
court," Toptec said in a statement.
Shares in Toptec tumbled 20 percent.
A Samsung Display spokesman said the indictment was
"regrettable" and that the firm would increase efforts to
protect technology.
Prosecutors said Samsung Display invested 150 billion won
over six years to develop the leaked technology of 3D
lamination, which they said was "a national core technology".
Samsung dominates the market for small and mid-sized OLED
displays and is a supplier of Apple Inc AAPL.O .
($1 = 1,119.4000 won)
(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Heekyong Yang; Editing by
Christopher Cushing)
((ju-min.park@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5650; Reuters
Messaging: ju-min.park.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))