South Korea is widening its espionage law for the first time in over 70 years to stop China from poaching its chip technology — bad news for Chinese memory makers, good news for Samsung and SK Hynix.

• Starting Sunday, stealing "national secrets" for any foreign country — not just North Korea — can bring up to 30 years in prison.
• The old law only counted "enemy" states, so leaking chip technology to China was effectively a loophole.
• Chips drive over 40% of South Korean exports, and police logged a record 33 overseas leak cases last year, more than half tied to China.
• Small parts and materials suppliers are the weak point — they hold sensitive know-how but can't afford Samsung-level security, and account for 86% of leak cases.
• The usual method is hiring retired executives and senior engineers at two to three times their old pay, routed through shell companies in Singapore, Taiwan, or Hong Kong.

Outlook: Expect more prosecutions like the case against ten former Samsung staff accused of handing DRAM technology to China's CXMT, whose revenue jumped nearly ninefold this year as it takes share from the Korean giants.