SEOUL, Sept 13: South Korea’s expanded espionage law came into effect on Sunday, broadening the range of activities that can be treated as espionage as the country seeks stronger protection for its strategically important semiconductor industry.
The revised legislation extends espionage offences beyond traditional cases involving classified state information. The move reflects growing concerns over the theft of sensitive industrial technologies and the increasing strategic importance of advanced chips.
South Korea is home to major semiconductor manufacturers and has invested heavily in maintaining its position in the global chip supply chain. Advanced semiconductor technologies have also become increasingly important to artificial intelligence, smartphones, automobiles and high-performance computing.
The expanded law comes amid heightened competition among major economies to secure access to cutting-edge chips and protect domestic technological capabilities. Semiconductor technology has increasingly become a strategic asset, with governments introducing measures to reduce vulnerabilities in their supply chains.
Concerns over technology leakage have particularly focused on advanced manufacturing processes, chip designs and other proprietary information that can require years of research and billions of dollars in investment to develop.
South Korean authorities have been seeking stronger legal mechanisms to deter industrial espionage as competition intensifies across the global semiconductor sector.
The new rules are expected to give investigators broader scope to pursue cases involving the unauthorised transfer of sensitive technological information. The legislation also underscores Seoul’s effort to treat critical technology protection as an issue of national economic security.
The development comes at a time when artificial intelligence is driving strong demand for high-performance processors and memory chips. AI data centres require enormous computing capacity, increasing the strategic value of advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
For South Korea, protecting its chip expertise is particularly significant because semiconductors represent a major component of its technology exports and industrial competitiveness.
The tougher framework could also encourage companies to strengthen internal security procedures, restrict access to sensitive research and improve monitoring of employees and business partners handling proprietary technology.
The latest move highlights how semiconductor competition is increasingly extending beyond manufacturing capacity into technology protection, cybersecurity and national security.