SKorean Chip Executive Detained Again over Alleged Technology Leak to China

Clouds are seen above high-rise buildings at dawn in Beijing on September 6, 2024. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)
Clouds are seen above high-rise buildings at dawn in Beijing on September 6, 2024. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)
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SKorean Chip Executive Detained Again over Alleged Technology Leak to China

Clouds are seen above high-rise buildings at dawn in Beijing on September 6, 2024. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)
Clouds are seen above high-rise buildings at dawn in Beijing on September 6, 2024. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)

A South Korean executive accused of stealing semiconductor information developed by Samsung Electronics has been detained again on fresh allegations related to the theft of chip processing technology, a court official and his lawyer said on Friday.
The Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant to detain Choi Jinseog on Thursday due to concerns he was a flight risk, said a court official, who declined to provide further details.
Choi, a former Samsung executive who ran a chipmaking venture in China, has already been the subject of a high-profile industrial espionage trial since July 2023 and was arrested and released on bail last November. He has rejected those charges.
He now faces new allegations of being involved in stealing information related to 20-nanometre DRAM chip processing from Samsung, Kim Pilsung, Choi's lawyer, told Reuters.
Kim said his client denied any wrongdoing and the information he is accused of stealing is publicly available.
Choi has not been indicted over the new allegations, his lawyer said.
Samsung declined to comment.
In a case that underscores South Korea's efforts to crack down on industrial espionage and slow China's progress in chip manufacturing, Choi was indicted in June 2023, accused of seeking to build a copycat chip factory in China with sensitive information developed by Samsung.
The award-winning engineer was once seen as a star in South Korea's chip industry.
After being freed on bail, Choi told Reuters in April that police were investigating him and one of his former employees, an ex-Samsung worker, over fresh allegations related to Samsung's chip processing technology.



Canada Sues Google over Alleged Anticompetitive Practices in Online Ads

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google LLC is shown on a building in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google LLC is shown on a building in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
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Canada Sues Google over Alleged Anticompetitive Practices in Online Ads

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google LLC is shown on a building in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google LLC is shown on a building in San Diego, California, US, October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

Canada's antitrust watchdog said Thursday it is suing Google over alleged anticompetitive conduct in the tech giant’s online advertising business and wants the company to sell off two of its ad tech services and pay a penalty.
The Competition Bureau said that such action is necessary because an investigation into Google found that the company “unlawfully” tied together its ad tech tools to maintain its dominant market position, The Associated Press said.
The matter is now headed for the Competition Tribunal, a quasi-judicial body that hears cases brought forward by the competition commissioner about non-compliance with the Competition Act.
The bureau is asking the tribunal to order Google to sell its publisher ad server, DoubleClick for Publishers, and its ad exchange, AdX. It estimates Google holds a market share of 90% in publisher ad servers, 70% in advertiser networks, 60% in demand-side platforms and 50% in ad exchanges.
This dominance, the bureau said, has discouraged competition from rivals, inhibited innovation, inflated advertising costs and reduced publisher revenues.
“Google has abused its dominant position in online advertising in Canada by engaging in conduct that locks market participants into using its own ad tech tools, excluding competitors, and distorting the competitive process," Matthew Boswell, Commissioner of Competition, said in a statement.
Google, however, maintains the online advertising market is a highly competitive sector.
Dan Taylor, Google’s vice president of global ads, said in a statement that the bureau’s complaint “ignores the intense competition where ad buyers and sellers have plenty of choice.”
The statement added that Google intends to defend itself against the allegation.
US regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade.
The proposed breakup, floated in a 23-page document filed this month by the US Department of Justice, calls for sweeping punishments that would include a sale of Google’s industry-leading Chrome web browser and impose restrictions to prevent Android from favoring its own search engine.