Samsung Investigation Says Etching Process Recipes Were Leaked Multiple Times to Lam Research Korea; Neither Side Has Responded

AT A GLANCE

Reports say that some of Samsung's etch process recipes, which were not approved for external transfer, were repeatedly leaked to Lam Research's Korean subsidiary.

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[Samsung Etching Process Recipes Exposed as Flowing to Lam Research Korea Multiple Times]

According to the Korean semiconductor media outlet THE ELEC, etching process recipes used by Samsung Electronics for semiconductor manufacturing have been exposed as flowing to the equipment supplier Lam Research Korea. Samsung's internal investigation found that data transmissions beyond the authorized scope occurred multiple times, and it regards the matter as a serious technology leak incident. Lam Research is an equipment supplier for Samsung's semiconductor production lines, mainly providing etching and deposition equipment. Data generated during equipment operation is stored in systems such as monitoring servers inside the fab. Under the agreement between the two parties, Lam Research may obtain certain equipment data within a limited scope for performance optimization and maintenance, and its Korean company submits data requests to Samsung. Samsung's investigation found that some process recipes not approved for external provision flowed to Lam Research Korea in the form of separate files, and the related transmissions originated from non-compliant requests and were not a single occurrence. Samsung discovered the problem in the second half of this year. Semiconductor process recipes record key parameters such as equipment temperature, chamber pressure, gas flow rate, and processing duration, directly affecting chip yield, performance, and production stability, and are core technical materials of wafer manufacturing companies. Lam Research Korea announced on November 6 that Kim Tae-won will succeed Park Jun-hong as CEO. Some industry insiders link this leadership change to the data leak incident, but there is currently no public information proving a direct relationship between the two. Neither Samsung Electronics nor Lam Research Korea responded to THE ELEC's interview inquiries.

Key points

According to a report by the South Korean semiconductor media THE ELEC, Samsung Electronics' etching process recipes used for semiconductor manufacturing have been revealed to have leaked to Lam Research Korea.
An internal investigation by Samsung found that data transfers beyond the scope of authorization had occurred multiple times, and it treated this as a serious technical leak incident.
Under the agreement between the two parties, Lam Research may access certain equipment data within a limited scope for performance optimization and maintenance.
A Samsung investigation found that some process recipes not approved for external provision flowed to Lam Research Korea in the form of separate files, and the related transfers originated from non-compliant requests and were not a single occurrence.
Samsung discovered this issue in the second half of this year.
Lam Research Korea announced on November 6 that Kim Tae-won will succeed Park Jun-hong as CEO.
There is currently no public information proving a direct relationship between the CEO change and the data breach incident.
Samsung Electronics and Lam Research Korea both did not respond to THE ELEC's interview inquiries.

AI-assisted interpretation

The following is analysis, separate from reported facts. Verify important claims independently.

The etching process recipes contain parameters such as equipment temperature, chamber pressure, gas flow rate, and processing duration. The reported issue is that some recipe files that should not have been provided externally were repeatedly transmitted to the Korean company of the equipment supplier due to non-compliant applications.

Why it matters to readers

The original text states that these parameters directly affect chip yield, performance, and production stability, and constitute the core technical data of wafer manufacturing enterprises; therefore, transmission beyond the permitted scope involves technical data protection and data access management.

Beginners should focus on distinguishing between "media reports and internal investigation claims" and "publicly independently verified information": currently, the original text only contains paraphrased reports, and the relevant companies have not yet responded.

Risks and unknowns

There is a lack of publicly available Samsung internal investigation documents or other independent verification materials.
Samsung Electronics and Lam Research Korea did not respond to interview requests.
It remains unclear exactly how many files were transferred, who applied for or received them, and how they were subsequently handled.
There is no public information proving a direct relationship between the CEO change at Lam Research Korea and this incident.

Samsung Investigation Says Etching Process Recipes Were Leaked Multiple Times to Lam Research Korea; Neither Side Has Responded

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