SEOUL: The trial of a South Korean chip executive accused of stealing sensitive information developed by Samsung Electronics began yesterday in a case that underscores the country’s crackdown on industrial espionage.

       Prosecutors alleged that Choi Jinseog, a former Samsung executive and a South Korean chip expert, stole sensitive information developed by the world’s top memory chipmaker to help his client set up a chip factory in China.

       The high-profile criminal case against Choi, an award-winning engineer once seen as a star in South Korea’s chip industry, highlights Seoul’s efforts to crack down on industrial espionage and slow China’s progress in chip manufacturing.

       Choi, now in custody in Suwon, a city south of Seoul where Samsung has its headquarters, attended the hearing in his beige prison uniform and denied all the charges.

       “The defendant never used or gave orders to use Samsung’s data,” Kim Pilsung, Choi’s lawyer, said, adding that what prosecutors claimed Choi had stolen was neither business secrets nor national core technology. — Reuters