According to Korean newspaper Yonhap News the Korean police is investigating a case of industrial espionage. Samsung’s OLED technology has reportedly been sold to a ”rival local firm”. 11 have been arrested.
OLED industry espionage
According to the Korean police, 11 people have been arrested on suspicion of selling secret OLED technology from Samsung to a ”rival local firm”.
Samsung’s OLED technology has reportedly been sold in an industry espionage case
One of the suspects is a Samsung SMD researcher that now works at the rival company but was deeply involved in developement at Samsung. He is suspected of receiving 190 million Won (approx. $168,000) for the data, and he is also suspected of selling the data to a Chinese display maker.
The media speculates that the ”local rival firm” is LG but we should point out that LG uses a quite different OLED technology than Samsung. But the case certainly shows that the stakes are high right now. The transistion to OLED display panels can shift the balance of power in the industry, and manufacturers are racing to adopt the technology.
The Korean police will continue to investigate the case. Samsung has not commented on the story.
- Source: Yonhap News
Samsung's OLED technology stolen, sold to rival
