Recently, the Taiwan Prosecutors' Office formally lodged a public indictment against the Taiwanese subsidiary of Tokyo Electron, a Japanese semiconductor equipment behemoth. The subsidiary is accused of management negligence in a commercial espionage case, as it allegedly failed to take adequate measures to prevent its employees from pilfering TSMC's technical secrets. Prosecutors highlighted that the Taiwanese arm of Tokyo Electron did not exert all possible efforts to implement preventive measures against the leakage of trade secrets. Consequently, they have petitioned the court to levy a fine on the company. Nevertheless, there is no evidence to suggest that the company actually utilized or possessed TSMC's stolen proprietary technology. This time around, only corporate liability for management negligence is under scrutiny.

The case traces its roots back to August 2025. Prosecutors have already filed a public indictment against three individuals implicated in the scandal, including a former employee surnamed Chen, who had prior stints at both TSMC and Tokyo Electron. Upon joining Tokyo Electron, this individual persistently lobbied his former TSMC colleagues to divulge confidential data. His intention was to aid Tokyo Electron in refining its etching equipment, thereby enabling it to qualify as a supplier for TSMC's 2nm process equipment. Additionally, the trio had conspired to export the relevant technology for utilization overseas.

Following the revelation of the incident, Tokyo Electron promptly terminated the employment of the individuals involved and issued a statement affirming that the company adheres to stringent employee conduct guidelines. To date, there has been no discovery of any sensitive TSMC data being leaked to third parties. Moreover, the company has expressed its full cooperation with the ongoing investigation.