A person walks by an automatic teller machine for Shinhan Bank in Seoul on Oct. 7.YONHAP
A wave of data breaches at Korean financial firms is shifting from a cybersecurity crisis to a legal battle, as a law firm recruits victims to join a collective lawsuit.
A Seoul-based law firm has begun recruiting Shinhan Bank customers whose personal information was exposed to join a damages lawsuit against the bank, according to financial and legal industry sources on Wednesday.
The suit is open to customers who can verify that they were affected, including those who received notices from Shinhan Bank that their personal information had been compromised.
Each victim is expected to seek between 100,000 won ($75) and 300,000 won in damages.
The law firm reportedly plans to file the lawsuit against Shinhan Bank once it finishes recruiting plaintiffs.
The move follows a large-scale cyberattack on Shinhan Bank last Thursday that exposed the personal information of about 25,000 customers.
The compromised data included information collected during loan applications, such as customers’ names, phone numbers, connection information, annual income and loan limits. The breach also exposed 66 resident registration numbers and 97 connection information records, which function as encrypted identifiers applicable across multiple platforms.
After the breach, Shinhan Bank CEO Jung Sang-hyuk issued a public apology and pledged to fully compensate customers for any actual losses caused by the incident.
Automatic teller machines for various banks are installed in Seoul on Oct. 6.NEWS1
Some victims, however, say key questions remain unanswered, including what the bank considers a loss and how it will compensate.
A Naver online community has also been set up for Shinhan Bank hacking victims seeking to file a joint lawsuit.
In a notice, the community’s operator said the group was established because the bank has promised full compensation for losses but has yet to provide detailed guidance on what qualifies as a compensable loss or how customers can file claims.
The financial industry, meanwhile,is bracing for the possibility that similar lawsuits could follow against other firms.
Security breaches have recently been reported at KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank and BNK Busan Bank, as well as Yegaram Savings Bank, Welcome Savings Bank and Hyundai Capital.
As data breaches ripple across the financial sector, the scale of the damage and how firms respond could determine whether more lawsuits follow.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
