TAIPEI – In a case that has rattled Taiwan's tech industry, prosecutors have indicted three individuals on charges of leaking highly sensitive trade secrets from the world's leading chip foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). The indictment, announced on Wednesday, targets a former TSMC employee and two current staff members accused of sharing confidential documents related to the company's cutting-edge 2-nanometer (nm) chip fabrication technology.

The defendants face serious charges under Taiwan's National Security Act, specifically for "extra-territorial use of national core key technologies and trade secrets." Prosecutors are seeking hefty prison sentences, requesting 14 years for the principal suspect and nine and seven years for the other two. According to a statement from the Intellectual Property Branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, this case poses a "severe threat to the international competitiveness of Taiwan's semiconductor industry."

The alleged scheme came to light after TSMC filed a complaint on July 8. A subsequent investigation led to the suspects being detained on August 6. Prosecutors claim that a former TSMC engineer, identified only by his surname Chen, who had since transitioned to the Japanese semiconductor equipment firm Tokyo Electron, orchestrated the leak. He is said to have received approximately 1,000 pages of technical drawings of the 2nm process, which were secretly photographed and sent via mobile phone by two of his former colleagues still working at TSMC.

The alleged involvement of a major Japanese firm has intensified public concern, as it points to the potential transfer of Taiwan's most crucial intellectual property to an international competitor. As a global leader in advanced chip production, TSMC is widely regarded as a strategic national asset, and the breach has sent shockwaves through the island nation. The company's 2nm technology is at the forefront of semiconductor innovation and is critical for future products from top global clients, including Apple and NVIDIA. The indictment underscores the escalating risks of industrial espionage in the fiercely competitive semiconductor sector and highlights the importance of protecting a country's core technological advantages.