On the 19th, lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Korea on the National Assembly Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee (Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee) visited KT and Lotte Card, where a massive hacking incident occurred, for an emergency on-site inspection.
At the on-site inspection were Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee Chairperson Choi Min-hee and Democratic Party of Korea secretary Kim Hyun, along with lawmakers Kim Woo-young, Lee Ju-hee, Lee Hoon-gi, and Lee Jeong-heon; Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Lee Hae-min also took part.
The lawmakers first visited the KT Research and Development Headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 5th of last month to assess the unauthorized small-amount payment damage. They received briefings from KT on consumer damage and response results, and raised questions about the information security system, delayed response, and the deletion of servers for an on-premises remote consultation system.
The attending lawmakers said, "From the company's standpoint, it has a duty to preserve the records and evidence of through what route and how damage occurred," adding, "It is hard to accept that it disposed of them despite notices of facts from the relevant authorities."
A KT official said, "There are many things that need to be fixed in the (management system for) wireless equipment such as femtocells," adding, "We think this is the starting point."
The Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee lawmakers then visited Lotte Card's headquarters, where information on 2.97 million customers was leaked. For the Lotte Card inspection, Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee Chairperson Choi Min-hee, secretary Kim Hyun, and lawmakers Noh Jong-myeon, Lee Ju-hee, Lee Jeong-heon, and Lee Hae-min, as well as Democratic Party of Korea Policy Committee (National Policy Committee) secretary Kang Jun-hyun and Commissioner Kim Nam-geun, attended.
Chairperson Choi Min-hee said, "The Lotte Card hacking case is a very serious matter," adding, "In particular, for 28 affected customers, personal information, card numbers, and even two digits of the CVC password, which is core payment information, were leaked, so the likelihood of fraudulent use is high and we have no choice but to urgently assess the situation."
Secretary Kim Hyun also said, "Not only at telecom companies but at card companies as well, customer information has been leaked, heightening public anxiety," adding, "We must work meticulously to ensure consumers' rights are not violated."
Following the emergency on-site inspection, the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee will also hold a hearing on the 24th regarding the large-scale hacking incidents at telecom and financial companies. KT CEO Kim Young-seop and Lotte Card CEO Cho Jwa-jin, as well as MBK Partners Chairman Kim Byung-joo, Lotte Card's largest shareholder, have been called as witnesses. In addition, Hong Kwan-hee, executive director and head of the LG Uplus Information Security Center, Lee Jong-hyun, executive vice president and head of the SK Telecom Integrated Security Center, and Korea University Graduate School of Information Security professor Kim Seung-joo will appear as references.