MSIT Conducts On-Site Investigation into KT Small-Payment Incident and Launches Advisory Panel

The Korean government has moved swiftly in response to unauthorized small-payment charges affecting KT customers. On the 9th, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced the formation of a joint government-private investigation task force, led by the Director-General for Information Security and Network Policy, to conduct on-site inspections and identify the root cause.

The MSIT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) received a breach report from KT at 7:16 p.m. on the 8th. They immediately requested the preservation of related data and visited KT’s Seocho headquarters in Umyeon-dong, Seoul at 10:50 p.m. the same day to assess the situation.

Given the seriousness of the incident and the need for detailed analysis of the attack methods, the task force includes experts in mobile communications and network security. In addition, an advisory panel of private-sector cybersecurity specialists will provide technical and policy guidance to ensure a thorough investigation.

Ryu Je-myeong, Vice Minister of Science and ICT, stated, “To minimize public damage, we have assembled top domestic experts to swiftly identify the cause and prevent further spread. We will also work closely with law enforcement authorities conducting the investigation.”