Taiwan Jail Four Engineers in First-Ever Chip Secrets Conviction
The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court handed former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company employee Chen Li-ming a 10-year prison term after he was found guilty of leaking classified sub-14nm "processes and related key gases, chemicals, and equipment technology" following his move to rival firm Tokyo Electron Taiwan, as reported by a Taiwanese broadcaster.
Prosecutors established that Chen had solicited confidential data on etching machine performance from former colleagues throughout the second half of 2023 and into early 2025.
Three co-defendants — Ko Yi-ping, Wu Ping-chun, and Chen Wei-chieh — were handed sentences ranging between two and six years.
Beyond the individual penalties, Tokyo Electron Taiwan was fined NT$150 million (approximately $4.77 million), with the bulk directed to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company as restitution. The verdict represents the first time a corporation has been convicted under the amended National Security Act.
The court did not mince words in assessing the severity of Chen Li-ming's conduct, ruling that his actions "endangered the international competitiveness of the industry and national economic security" by exposing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's proprietary secrets to potential external breach.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company had argued in court filings that Tokyo Electron Taiwan operates as a supplier rather than a direct competitor, and maintained the leaked information had not traveled beyond the firm or its Japanese parent company.
A separate conviction was handed to Tokyo Electron Taiwan executive Lu Yi-yin, found guilty of obstructing justice by erasing image files Chen had photographed from TSMC materials. Her 10-month sentence was suspended for three years, contingent on a NT$1 million ($31,800) payment — a reduced outcome that reflected her decision to voluntarily come forward after forensic recovery of the deleted files.
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