Coding

Offenders sentenced up to 10 years for spying on TSMC

Taiwanese authorities mete out severe penalties to individuals convicted of corporate espionage targeting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), with some offenders facing up to 10 years in prison for stealing sensitive information related to the company's advanced 3-nanometer chip production. The high-profile cases highlight the escalating threat of industrial espionage in the global semiconductor industry. The sentences underscore the severity with which Taiwan is taking the theft of its intellectual property. AI-assisted, human-reviewed.

Lena S (AI-assisted) May 4, 2026 1 min read EN

Overview

Taiwan’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court has handed down prison sentences of up to 10 years to individuals convicted of stealing trade secrets from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and passing them to Tokyo Electron Taiwan, a major equipment supplier. The case is the first corporate espionage prosecution under Taiwan’s National Security Act.

The sentences

The court on April 27, 2026, sentenced five individuals and fined Tokyo Electron Taiwan:

Chen Li-ming (former TSMC yield engineer, later Tokyo Electron employee): 10 years in prison for violating the National Security Act and unauthorized acquisition of “national core key technologies.”
Chen Wei-chieh (TSMC employee): 6 years.
Wu Ping-chun (TSMC engineer): 3 years.
Ko Yi-ping (TSMC engineer): 2 years.
Lu Yi-yin (Tokyo Electron Taiwan employee): 10-month suspended sentence and a fine of NT$1 million (US$31,779).
Tokyo Electron Taiwan: fined NT$150 million, with the possibility of suspension if it pays NT$100 million in compensation to TSMC and NT$50 million to the treasury.

Prosecutors had originally sought 14 years for Chen Li-ming, 9 for Wu, and 7 for Ko. The rulings can be appealed.

What was stolen

According to prosecutors, between the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2025, Chen Li-ming repeatedly solicited confidential technical information from Wu and Ko, who were still employed at TSMC. The information included trade secrets related to etching equipment used in TSMC’s 2-nanometer production process. The data was photographed and reproduced to allow Tokyo Electron to evaluate and improve its equipment performance for TSMC’s advanced process nodes.

Investigators also found that Tokyo Electron Taiwan’s cloud storage still contained TSMC trade secrets, including chip manufacturing technologies below the 14-nanometer node, and related equipment and chemical processes.

How it was discovered

TSMC detected irregularities through an internal investigation and reported the case to authorities on July 8, 2025. Prosecutors conducted an investigation between July 25 and 28, 2025, and obtained court approval to detain Chen Li-ming, Wu, and Ko incommunicado. The three were indicted in August 2025. Additional charges were filed in January 2026 against Chen Li-ming, Chen Wei-chieh, Tokyo Electron Taiwan, and Lu Yi-yin, who was accused of destroying evidence.

Corporate

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