China confirms arrest of South Korean man on suspicion of espionage

China has detained a South Korean man on suspicion of espionage, marking the first arrest of a citizen from the East Asian nation under the toughened counterespionage law.

The South Korean embassy in Beijing on Monday confirmed that a 50-year-old man identified as Mr A was taken into custody last December on suspicion of espionage.

A former employee of Samsung Electronics, he was suspected to have leaked semiconductor related information to South Korean authorities, Yonhap news agency reported.

The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed the arrest on Tuesday but did not detail the charges or even identify the person.

"The South Korean citizen was arrested by the Chinese authorities in accordance with the law on suspicion of espionage," Lin Jian, a spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, said. "As a law-governing country, China has detected illegal activity in accordance with the law while guaranteeing the person’s legitimate rights.”

China revised its espionage law last July for the first time since 2014. It expanded the definition of espionage to include cyber attacks against state organs or critical infrastructure. The law, critics said, gave Beijing more power to punish what it deemed threats to national security.

In recent years, China has detained dozens of its own and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage, such as an executive at Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma who was held in Beijing last year. Espionage cases are usually tried in secret due to their national security links.

The latest arrest is likely to deter investment and operations by South Korean firms in the neighbouring country.

Mr A moved to China in 2016 and worked in major Chinese semiconductor companies, including the country’s largest memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies, according to The Chosun Daily.

He left to start his own company before being detained by the authorities.

He is suspected to have leaked semiconductor related information to South Korea while working for the Chinese chipmaker. He has denied leaking the data, daily said.

Mr A was reportedly detained on 18 December 2023 after the National Security Bureau of Hefei City barged into his home. He was questioned by authorities in a local hotel where he was kept isolated for more than five months.

He was moved to a Hefei detention centre in May and his family claims he has not been given access to his medicines for diabetes.

The confirmation of the arrest follows the tightening of measures by Seoul to prevent what it sees as the theft of semiconductor intellectual property by Chinese firms.

Choi Jinseog, a former Samsung executive who ran a chipmaking venture in China, was detained last month on fresh accusations regarding the theft of chip processing technology.

Mr Choi had already been the subject of an industrial espionage trial since July 2023 that underscored South Korea‘s attempts to fight industrial espionage and slow China‘s progress in chipmaking. He has denied any wrongdoing.