Group charged with disclosing Samsung OLED technology in China

South Korean prosecutors have indicted a group that allegedly leaked Samsung's technology into OLED dashboards in China.

The Suwon District Attorney's Office charged 11 people who were working in a company that would have manufactured automated equipment to create mobile panels to flee Samsung Display technology on 3D laminating in OLED panels. Three of the eleven, including the company's CEO, have been arrested and await trial.

Two others who allegedly also plotted to disclose the technology, but who worked for a separate Chinese company, were not charged.

The group reportedly formed a separate shell company that would have received information on the use of panel equipment and designs, which they had access to by working with Samsung. They then sold the documents in China, yielding 15.5 billion won ($ 13.8 million).

The group used secondary names, phones and personal e-mail addresses to avoid detection, the office said.

The development of the technology created by Samsung Display has required six years of development, a team of 38 engineers and an investment of 150 billion won, prosecutors said. It has been designated as a national core technology protected by South Korea's industrial technology protection laws.

Samsung Display is one of the leading manufacturers of OLED panels of medium to small size, controlling over 95% of the global market and providing them to customers such as Apple.

Chinese manufacturers are using Samsung Display's OLED displays in their flagship phones, and increased demand has been extremely profitable for the South Korean technology giant.

Samsung introduced the cutting edge version of OLED panels with the Galaxy Note Edge in 2014. Since then, it has introduced a double-edge version that has been used in its flagship series S and Note.

Samsung is also preparing to introduce a smartphone with a foldable OLED panel next year.

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