Taiwan's Top Revenue Source Stolen, Perpetrator Turns Out to Be Japanese

Taiwan has imposed a heavy sentence on a former engineer from a Japanese company after he was found guilty of stealing the world’s most strategic chip industry data. Taiwan’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court sentenced Chen Li-ming, a former employee of Tokyo Electron, to 10 years in prison for stealing data belonging to the chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Four other defendants in the case were sentenced to up to six years in prison, while a female defendant received a 10-month prison term with a three-year probation period. This verdict reflects Taiwan’s firm stance in protecting the semiconductor industry, which is now regarded as a national security asset. TSMC itself is the primary supplier of chips to technology giants such as Nvidia, Apple, and AMD, supporting advancements in artificial intelligence, supercomputers, and military defence systems. In addition to the prison sentences, the court imposed a fine of NT$150 million on Tokyo Electron’s unit in Taiwan. The company was given the option to pay NT$100 million to TSMC as compensation. The judge noted that the defendants did not leak trade secrets to parties outside the company, but Tokyo Electron was deemed to have inadequately supervised its employees. This case arises amid heightened vigilance in Taiwan regarding chip technology leaks. The Taiwanese government is now closely monitoring both long-standing partners and companies with ties to China, which is accelerating its ambitions to build a domestic semiconductor industry. Last year, prosecutors also searched the home of a former TSMC executive who joined Intel after the Taiwanese company accused him of potentially transferring intellectual property. The US company denied the allegations.