Former TSMC engineer Chen Li-ming sentenced to 10 years for leaking 2nm process trade secrets to equipment supplier Tokyo Electron Taiwan.
Key Takeaways
Chen solicited 2nm etching process secrets from still-employed TSMC engineers Wu and Ko to help Tokyo Electron win more equipment supply positions.
Tokyo Electron Taiwan fined NT$150 million, reducible if it pays NT$100 million to TSMC and NT$50 million to Taiwan’s treasury.
This is the first case where a corporate entity faced criminal liability under Taiwan’s National Security Act for core key technology violations.
Investigators found Tokyo Electron Taiwan’s cloud storage still contained TSMC chip tech below the 14nm node, including equipment and chemical process data.
TSMC detected the breach via internal investigation and reported it July 8, 2024; arrests followed within weeks and indictments came in August.
