The American government has started to stop the sale of processing chips developed by the country's companies to China several years ago, and is seen to have tightened the sale of semiconductor components to the country's companies.
Lately, it has been reported that China is still developing new technology using components that should be banned from being sold to the country. Large-scale smuggling is believed to be among the reasons why this happened, and two individuals from South Korea suspected of smuggling these components have been arrested.
These two individuals, who are part of a company that distributes electronic components and equipment, have been charged with smuggling 96 thousand semiconductor chips worth 13.9 billion KRW.
53 thousand of the semiconductor chips are prohibited components and require permission from the South Korean government before they can be exported to other countries, but it was found that the company did not make any request about it.
These components were smuggled on a small scale using air mail 144 times from August 2020 to August 2023 and were busted due to an audit investigation conducted on the company.
Apart from processing chips for computers, among the smuggled semiconductor chips are also for the purpose of converting analog signals to digital signals, which have many uses in various types of industries, including the military industry.
These two individuals are reportedly suspected of violating several acts including the Foreign Trade Act, the Customs Act and the Regulatory and Penalty of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds Act, according to the Korea Times.