Samsung AMOLED tech was allegedly sold to ‘rival local firm,’ 11 arrested

AMOLED displays are just starting to show up in consumer electronics, but police have already found evidence of industrial espionage involving some major companies. Korean police have arrested 11 people on suspicion of selling technology from Samsung Mobile Display to a “rival local firm,” possibly LG. It looks like the suspects, including a former Samsung researcher, either held or formerly held positions at both companies, and the primary suspect is accused of receiving 190 million won (around $168,000 US) for the information, then trying to sell it to a different Chinese manufacturer after not receiving the executive position he expected.

According to Yonhap News, the leaked technology involved “small mask scanning,” which is used to produce large displays like the TVs Samsung hopes to release later this year. If LG is the company in question and ended up using this information, it could help explain how both companies were able to announce 55-inch AMOLED TVs at the same time. However, as OLED-info has pointed out, LG uses fairly different technology, so it’s unclear how applicable the two methods would be to each other. We’ll presumably be seeing more information if the case goes to court.