A massive spy scandal involving the world’s most important computer chip manufacturer is finally nearing its end. Most political arguments about technology focus on selling artificial intelligence chips or arguing over trade tariffs. However, a major legal battle currently underway involves the theft of highly guarded trade secrets from TSMC. The news outlet UDM Money recently reported that a landmark trial concerning this massive industrial espionage case just wrapped up its main court proceedings. Now, everyone is waiting for the final verdict, which a judge will announce on April 27.
The entire legal drama centers around a former TSMC engineer named Chen Li-ming. Prosecutors accuse Li-ming of organizing a complex spy ring to steal valuable manufacturing secrets for a competing company called Tokyo Electron Taiwan. During his time at TSMC, Li-ming worked specifically in yield management, meaning he knew exactly how the company successfully produced its incredibly complex computer chips. Eventually, he left TSMC and took a new job in the marketing department at the Japanese firm. Prosecutors claim that once he settled into his new role, he immediately began coordinating illegal espionage operations for his new employer.
What makes this trial so incredibly important is the law the Taiwanese government chose to apply. For the very first time in history, Taiwanese courts invoked the powerful National Security Act to prosecute a case involving semiconductor manufacturing. The government essentially treated the theft of computer chip secrets the same way it would treat the theft of military weapons plans. Prosecutors used this heavy legal hammer to charge Li-ming, several of his former associates across two different operations, and the Tokyo Electron company itself.
The trial, which is wrapping up this month, specifically focuses on events that began in August 2023. According to the court documents, shortly after Li-ming joined Tokyo Electron, he reached out to two current TSMC engineers named Wu Bing-chun and Ko Yi-ping. Prosecutors say Li-ming convinced these two men to secretly siphon away highly classified technical data regarding TSMC’s cutting-edge 2-nanometer manufacturing process. Investigators believe Li-ming stole this specific data to help Tokyo Electron secure a lucrative contract as a supplier for TSMC. If the judge finds the men guilty, Li-ming faces up to 14 years in prison, Bing-chun faces nine years, and Yi-ping faces seven years.
Unfortunately for Li-ming, his legal troubles do not stop there. A completely separate, second criminal case against him just kicked off this past January. This newer indictment involves a different TSMC employee named Chen Wei-chieh. Prosecutors allege that Li-ming convinced Wei-chieh to secretly photograph heavily guarded trade secrets concerning older 14-nanometer chip technology. The government also claims that a Tokyo Electron manager, identified only by the surname Lu, knew exactly what the men were doing the entire time.
This second case looks incredibly damaging because it involves more than just stealing digital files. Prosecutors also charged the group with actively destroying evidence. The investigators discovered that the men used a public cloud-sharing platform to exchange the stolen photographs secretly. If convicted in this second trial, Li-ming could face another seven years behind bars, Wei-chieh could receive nearly nine years, and the manager Lu could serve one year. Because this specific indictment is so new, the court has not set a final date for the trial or the sentencing.
The Taiwanese legal system allows judges to combine multiple prison sentences, up to a maximum of 20 years. Because the government considers this a groundbreaking national security case, Li-ming faces a very real possibility of spending the next two decades in a prison cell. Meanwhile, Tokyo Electron Taiwan also faces legal penalties, though they appear far less severe. The court charged the company with failing to take proper steps to prevent its employees from committing illegal acts. The government originally fined the company 120 million New Taiwan dollars. Following the second indictment, the court tacked on an extra 25 million, bringing the total fine to roughly $4.52 million.
