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Science minister visits KT's office amid mobile payment breach

Published: 11 Sep. 2025, 17:23

Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon inspects response measures to unauthorized small payment breaches during a visit to KT’s Gwanghwamun branch in central Seoul on Sept. 11. [NEWS1]

Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon visited an office of Korea's No. 2 mobile carrier KT on Thursday, calling for an all-out effort to address a recent series of unauthorized mobile payments.

The visit came after a total of 278 cases of unauthorized mobile payments worth 170 million won ($122,000) had been reported by KT users as of Wednesday, raising concerns over a possible leak of customer data.

"The latest breach is a significant issue that directly affects people's trust in the telecommunications system in their daily lives," Bae said.

"We ask for all-out efforts to regain the public's trust and to recognize that strong security is an essential element in making the country one of the world's top three players in the AI sector," he added.

Bae also urged the company to proactively cooperate with the related investigation.

On Tuesday, the Science Ministry launched a special team to probe the recent breach, a day after KT officially reported the case to the Korea Internet & Security Agency.

Yonhap