A South Korean appeals court sentenced former Samsung Electronics employee Jeon to five years in prison on Oct. 22, 2026, for leaking the company’s 18-nanometer-class DRAM process technology to ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT. The sentence reduced his seven-year first-trial term by two years. Jeon spent nearly three decades at Samsung before joining CXMT in 2016 and acknowledged involvement in the leak. Prosecutors said he received about 2.9 billion won, including stock options, over six years. The leaked Process Recipe Plan covered roughly 600 manufacturing steps in technology Samsung developed over five years at a cost exceeding 1 trillion won. DRAM is the working memory used in phones, laptops and servers, and its production relies on closely guarded manufacturing know-how. At least 10 people face charges under South Korea’s Industrial Technology Protection Act, while prosecutors allege CXMT recruited at least 27 former Samsung and SK Hynix engineers. The case underscores enforcement challenges as Chinese chipmakers recruit experienced talent and courts distinguish personal expertise from employer-owned trade secrets.