Home > Business > Industry

4 indicted with detention for leaking Samsung SDI's EV battery technology

Published: 03 Nov. 2025, 19:36

Award-winning Samsung SDI products are on display at The Smarter E Europe exhibition space in Munich on May 6. [SAMSUNG SDI]

Prosecutors on Monday indicted 15 people and entities on charges of stealing and leaking core state-protected technology related to EV batteries developed by Samsung SDI to foreign companies.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office said four of the suspects, including the head of a company accused of orchestrating the leak, were indicted with physical detention on charges of violating the industrial technology protection law and the unfair competition prevention law, among others.

Eleven others were also indicted without physical detention, including a former Samsung SDI employee and two Kosdaq-listed corporate entities.

The suspects are accused of siphoning design models for EV battery components developed by Samsung SDI and one of its partner firms — key industrial secrets designated as core state-protected technology — between October 2022 and February this year, and illegally using them for business purposes.

They are also suspected of leaking the confidential data to secondary battery companies in Vietnam and China.

The leaked information included designs for rectangular aluminum battery cases, known as "cans," which protect prismatic batteries from external damage, as well as data on cap assembly parts designed to prevent explosions or fires by blocking the flow of electricity or gas in case of overheating.

The suspects allegedly obtained the technology using information gained while working for a Samsung SDI subcontractor.

Prosecutors launched the investigation after receiving a tip-off from the National Intelligence Service and secured key digital evidence through search operations, allowing them to tackle the crime at an early stage and prevent the export of battery components using the leaked technology to a Chinese battery firm, officials said.

Yonhap