Process recipes for Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor etching leaked to the Korean unit of US equipment maker Lam Research, TheElec reported in an exclusive on 9 November. According to TheElec, a Samsung investigation found that information beyond the permitted scope had been taken out several times because of improper requests from Lam Research Korea. Samsung and Lam Research Korea did not respond to TheElec’s questions.
Korea accounted for 19.9% of Lam Research’s revenue in the quarter to 27 September, by our arithmetic from Lam’s 10-Q, up from 14.6% a year earlier. Lam’s 10-K names Samsung among its most significant customers.
Business Pill · Concentration
A short explainer on customer concentration, when a few buyers account for much of a supplier’s revenue. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss Lam Research or Samsung.
The key insight: TheElec reported on 9 November that Samsung etch process recipes leaked to Lam Research Korea through repeated requests beyond the scope Samsung had permitted. Korea was 19.9% of Lam Research’s revenue in the quarter to 27 September, by our arithmetic from Lam’s 10-Q, up from 14.6% a year earlier.
According to TheElec, Lam supplies etch and deposition equipment to Samsung’s lines, and data from that equipment is stored on monitoring servers on the lines. Lam could receive some of that data within a scope agreed with Samsung, for equipment performance and maintenance, and Lam Research Korea requested it from Samsung.
TheElec reported that recipe information Samsung had not permitted to be taken out passed to Lam Research Korea as separate files, and that Samsung became aware of the matter in the second half of this year. A recipe sets process conditions such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and processing time, TheElec explained.
A person familiar with the matter told TheElec, in our translation: “My understanding is that Samsung, at the headquarters level, viewed it as a technology leak and took serious issue with it”. The report was relayed on X by the account @jukan05.
TheElec said some see the recent change of Lam Research Korea’s chief executive as linked to the matter. Lam Research Korea announced a new chief executive on 6 November, and the predecessor, who had led the unit since January 2024, stepped down, according to TheElec.
Lam Research’s quarterly revenue by customer location, quarters ended September 2025 and 2026, from its 10-Q. The shares of revenue and growth are FourWeekMBA’s arithmetic.
What Was Posted on X
Korean media report that Lam Research Korea allegedly leaked confidential information about Samsung Electronics’ etching technology.
“My understanding is that Samsung headquarters viewed this as a leak of proprietary technology and took the matter very seriously,” a person familiar with the matter said.
The reports say some believe the incident prompted the replacement of the head of Lam Research Korea.
A post at 06:44 UTC on 9 November relaying the Korean report in English: it says Lam Research Korea allegedly leaked confidential information about Samsung’s etching technology, quotes a person familiar with the matter on Samsung headquarters’ view, and says some believe the incident prompted a change of Lam Research Korea’s head. It links TheElec’s article, which the piece reads in Korean.
Why Samsung Matters to Lam
Lam’s 10-Q shows revenue from customers in Korea of $1.634 billion out of $8.219 billion in the quarter to 27 September, against $776 million a year earlier. By our arithmetic that is a 110% rise. Memory took 46% of Lam’s leading- and non-leading-edge equipment and upgrade revenue, against 34% a year earlier.
The 10-K says that in fiscal 2026, “four customers accounted for approximately 16 %, 15 %, 12 %, and 12 % of total revenues, respectively”, about 55% combined by our arithmetic. It does not say which customer holds which share.
A Precedent in Taiwan
TheElec pointed to a case in Taiwan involving the Taiwan unit of Tokyo Electron and TSMC’s 2-nanometre process technology. According to TheElec, a Taiwanese court sentenced an employee to 10 years and fined the Tokyo Electron unit NT$150 million for failing to supervise, suspended on condition that it pays TSMC and the Taiwanese treasury.
As we read TheElec’s account, the information at issue is the customer’s process conditions, which TheElec describes as core technical data containing a chipmaker’s process know-how.
As we read Lam’s filings, Korea’s weight in Lam’s revenue rose in the same year that memory’s share of its equipment and upgrade revenue rose from 34% to 46%.
As we read the Taiwan case TheElec cites, a court there penalised both an employee and an equipment maker’s local unit over a customer’s process technology.
A person familiar with the matter, to TheElec (our translation)
“My understanding is that Samsung, at the headquarters level, viewed it as a technology leak and took serious issue with it”
Three Implications
FOR LAM Lam’s 10-K names Samsung among its most significant customers, and four customers together were about 55% of fiscal 2026 revenue, by our arithmetic.
FOR SAMSUNG TheElec reported that Samsung investigated and found repeated exports beyond the permitted scope; Samsung did not respond to TheElec.
FOR EQUIPMENT MAKERS Lam’s 10-K says it keeps certain information, processes and techniques confidential or as trade secrets.
The framework says: “While companies compete on modelperformance and parameter counts, the real strategic advantage lies buried in processing facilities most tech executives have never visited, handling materials most engineers never think about.”
As we read it, a chipmaker’s process recipes are that kind of buried know-how. The framework predates TheElec’s report and does not discuss Lam Research or Samsung.
What Is Not Established
These are allegations reported by TheElec. Neither Samsung nor Lam Research Korea responded to TheElec, and we found no statement from either company. TheElec did not report action by prosecutors or regulators, which process or product the recipes covered, or any effect on orders. The link between the leadership change and the matter is a view TheElec attributes to some observers. The 19.9%, 14.6%, 110% and 55% figures are our arithmetic.
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TheElec reported on 9 November that Samsung etch recipes leaked to Lam Research Korea through repeated out-of-scope data requests, which Samsung investigated. Korea was 19.9% of Lam’s revenue in its latest quarter, by our arithmetic from Lam’s 10-Q.
A note on sourcing. The account of the leak is TheElec’s exclusive report of 9 November 2026, in Korean; translations are ours, and Samsung and Lam Research Korea did not respond to TheElec. Revenue figures are from Lam Research’s SEC filings. The 19.9%, 14.6%, 110% and 55% figures are our arithmetic.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
