It is rumored that the former vice president of TSMC took away advanced manufacturing process secrets, and the manager: There are three levels involved in national security

It is rumored that Luo Weiren, the former senior deputy general manager of TSMC, was suspected of taking away 2-nanometer and other advanced process information and returning it to Intel before his retirement. Minister of Economic Affairs Gong Mingxin said today that the government is concerned about the three-level impact including national security interests. The Ministry of Economic Affairs will cooperate with the High People's Procuratorate to explain the control methods of core and critical technologies, whether it involves the national security law, and will also update the scope of core and critical technologies at any time.

According to media reports, 75-year-old Luo Weiren retired from TSMC at the end of July, but before retiring, he used his senior management authority to demand briefings from his subordinates, and photocopied a large amount of confidential information on the most advanced processes such as 2 nanometers, A16, and A14 nanometers and took them away. TSMC is searching for evidence and is preparing to take action against him. There are also rumors in the industry that Luo Weiren will take a job at his old employer Intel at the end of October.

There are suspicions that TSMC's highly confidential information may have been leaked. Gong Mingxin said on the 18th that he had dispatched personnel to understand the actual situation; Taiwan's High Prosecutor's Office also announced that the Intellectual Property Office had investigated the "other person's case" to clarify whether illegality was involved.

Gong Mingxin said in an interview with the media in the Legislative Yuan today that the government is concerned about three levels: national security interests, overall industry interests, and the losses of individual manufacturers. First, regarding the national security level, the High People's Procuratorate has begun an investigation, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs will cooperate to explain the control methods of core and critical technologies to examine whether there are any doubts involving the national security law.

Gong Mingxin said that regarding the individual interests of the company, it will fully respect whether TSMC wants to file a business secrets lawsuit and will provide assistance if the manufacturer needs it. As for the overall industry interests, the Ministry of Economic Affairs will closely observe whether this situation will harm Taiwan's semiconductor industry ecological chain, or even customer relationships, and will continue to pay attention to the development of the situation.

The media asked whether the measures to prevent the outflow of key technologies were watertight. Gong Mingxin responded that relevant mechanisms had been established and the scope of core key technologies would be updated at any time.

In addition, the capital market has been experiencing violent fluctuations recently, and the outside world is worried about the impact of too much investment by technology giants on Taiwan's electronics industry. Gong Mingxin said that the Financial Supervisory Commission will pay close attention to the capital market. Unless there are major, non-economic factors, the government will respect the operation of the capital market. As for whether AI is overheated, people from all walks of life have different interpretations, but it is understood that it is based on substantial orders.

Further reading: It is rumored that Luo Weiren moved to Intel and took away 2 nanometer secrets! The old case of "TSMC traitor" attracted outsiders' suspicion It is rumored that Luo Weiren, the former senior vice president of TSMC, took away advanced process information, and the ministry sent personnel to investigate TSMC’s 21-year veteran leaves Intel to take charge of R&D! Luo Weiren is rumored to have taken away 2-nanometer advanced process secrets