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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)
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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.

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Apple Shares Fall as Tariff Costs to Add More Agony

FILE PHOTO: Customers walk past an Apple logo inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, US, August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Customers walk past an Apple logo inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, US, August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
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Apple Shares Fall as Tariff Costs to Add More Agony

FILE PHOTO: Customers walk past an Apple logo inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, US, August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Customers walk past an Apple logo inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, US, August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

Apple shares fell nearly 3% on Friday after the iPhone maker trimmed its share buyback program and CEO Tim Cook warned of additional tariff-related costs of about $900 million this quarter amid a raging Sino-US trade war.
The Cupertino, California-based company that makes over 90% of its products in China said it plans to shift production of iPhones to India to minimize the impact of President Donald Trump's trade war.
"It looks like Apple is progressing faster than expected with its move to shift production of US phones into the region (India)," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Analysts at Wedbush echoed this view, referring to India as Apple's "life raft supply chain" as the company navigates through tariff turbulence.
Cook outlined how Apple has started to build up a stockpile of products so that the majority of its devices sold in the US this quarter will not come from China.
“Tim Cook did his best to reassure investors on last night’s earnings call, but many likely came away still wanting more clarity about what lies beyond June," Matt said, adding that the $900 million hit to profit turned out to be smaller than many had feared.
Apple, which has been grappling with increased competition in key market China from rivals like Huawei due to slower rollouts of AI features, was already in troubled waters before the tariffs hit.
"The question for investors is what can replace China for Apple? This is not an easy question to answer and could threaten the long-term trajectory of Apple’s growth plan," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
Despite electronics being exempted from US.President Donald Trump's slew of import tariffs so far, Washington has signaled that some levies could be imposed in the coming weeks.
Big Tech peers Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta Platforms beat quarterly estimates aided by artificial intelligence, while Amazon.com's cloud revenue growth fell short of revenue expectations.
These results were in stark contrast to dour forecasts from consumer electronics companies that are more exposed to tightening consumer budgets - chipmakers Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, and Intel.
Apple shares lost about 15% so far this year. That compares with a 2.3% fall in Meta, and a nearly 1% rise in Microsoft.
Apple's 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio is 27.63, compared with Microsoft's 28.64 and Meta's 21.48.