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KT confesses to poor oversight during Assembly hearing on micro-payment hack

Published: 24 Sep. 2025, 14:37

KT CEO Kim Young-shub answers questions from the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee during a hearing on small-payment fraud cases linked to a data breach at the company at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Sept. 24. [YONHAP]

KT admitted that it poorly oversaw femtocells, small base stations suspected of being used by hackers for illegal micro-payments, at a National Assembly hearing on the company's recent security failures held on Wednesday.

KT CEO Kim Young-shub told lawmakers at the Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee that “after the incident, we blocked femtocells from connecting to the network, and our inspection revealed many loopholes in how they were managed.”

He acknowledged that KT had outsourced the installation and management of the devices.

Lawmakers pressed KT on the scope of the damage. The company initially focused its probe on automated response system (ARS) authentication, but said it is now expanding the review to cover all verification methods, including SMS authentication that involves text messages.

"Analysis takes time, so we are proceeding step by step. We are reviewing every authentication method," Kim said.

Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Jung-a called on Kim to resign, but he declined to commit, saying, “Resolving the crisis is the priority right now.”

Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT Ryu Je-myung stressed that while KT has claimed no core personal data, such as authentication keys, was leaked, the risk of phone cloning remains.

"The government’s joint investigation team will not rely solely on KT’s findings," he added.

Ryu also warned that if investigators confirm deliberate delays in reporting or suspicions that KT destroyed servers, the government will take firm measures if necessary, such as referring the case to police.

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.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]