The investigation into the TSMC 2nm trade secret leak case has concluded for three detained suspects, who have been formally indicted under the National Security Act and Trade Secrets Act. Prosecutors have requested heavy sentencing. The main suspect, Chen, a former employee of Tokyo Electron (TEL), faces a maximum sentence of 14 years. On the evening of September 1, 2025, the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court ruled to extend the detention of all three suspects without visitation rights for an additional three months.
Prosecutors revealed that Chen previously worked as an engineer in the yield department at TSMC's Fab 12 before resigning and joining the marketing department of TEL, one of TSMC's suppliers. Despite being fully aware of TSMC's strict confidentiality policies regarding sensitive information and suppliers, Chen sought to secure more equipment supply opportunities for TEL within TSMC's advanced process nodes.
He repeatedly leveraged his past connections to request critical trade secret files related to the 2nm process from current TSMC employees surnamed Wu, Ge, and Liao. Since Liao was not involved with any intent of extraterritorial use and was not charged, he was released from suspicion. Chen then reproduced these documents, attempting to help TEL improve the performance of etching machines.
After detecting irregularities during internal investigations, TSMC filed a complaint with prosecutors on July 8, 2025. The prosecution immediately directed the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau to launch an investigation. Related searches and enforcement actions were conducted between July 25 and 28.
Following intensive interrogations of suspects and witnesses, analysis of electromagnetic records, and seizure of evidence, prosecutors confirmed clear involvement by the three individuals. Sentencing recommendations were made according to their respective roles: Chen faces 14 years, while Wu and Ge face nine and seven years, respectively.
Meanwhile, three other suspects who were not detained were only implicated under the Trade Secrets Act, which requires a formal complaint to prosecute. As TSMC did not file complaints against them, the prosecution closed those cases.
Article edited by Jack Wu
