South Korea rewrites its espionage law to protect semiconductor secrets

Today South Korea’s first major espionage-law overhaul in more than 70 years takes effect. Previously, espionage law effectively focused on assisting an enemy state — overwhelmingly North Korea. The new law can punish stealing national secrets for any foreign entity with up to 30 years in prison, including non-public scientific, economic and technological information with national-security significance.

The immediate concern is semiconductors, which account for more than 40% of South Korean exports. Authorities recorded a record 33 technology-leakage cases in 2025, more than half connected to China; 86% involved smaller companies rather than giants such as Samsung or SK Hynix. Investigators describe foreign firms using shell companies and unusually high salaries to recruit retired engineers.

The semiconductor conflict is expanding from controlling machines and exports to controlling the movement of human knowledge.