South Korea Expands Espionage Law to All Foreign Countries on September 13, Targeting Semiconductor and AI Technology Leaks With Minimum Three-Year Prison Terms

South Korea's revised Criminal Act took effect on September 13, 2026, broadening espionage offenses beyond North Korea to cover acts involving national secrets for any foreign country or equivalent organization, with a minimum sentence of three years in prison. The National Assembly passed the amendment on February 26 after years of criticism that existing laws were ill-suited to punish technology and industrial espionage involving non-North Korean actors. The amendment was promulgated on March 12 with a six-month grace period before taking effect. South Korea's National Intelligence Service welcomed the change, identifying semiconductors, displays, batteries and artificial intelligence among the strategic technologies it seeks to protect. The legal change follows high-profile cases including the indictment last year of five former Samsung Electronics employees accused of transferring key DRAM chip technology to Chinese memory maker CXMT. South Korean police recorded 33 overseas technology leak cases in 2025 involving 105 people, with 18 cases involving China accounting for 54.5 percent of the total. Semiconductor technology accounted for five cases, while displays and secondary batteries accounted for three cases each. The new provision creates a distinct espionage offense separate from existing industrial technology protection laws, giving prosecutors a criminal tool specifically for national-security-level technology transfers. Legal experts cited the change as closing a longstanding loophole that often left advanced industrial technology leak cases subject to lighter penalties under other statutes.