
Attendance at the National Assembly’s Science and ICT Committee comprehensive audit… “We will take action” on the question of penalty exemption
AI-generated summary
LG U+ is under police investigation on suspicion of interfering with a forensic investigation by deliberately destroying and then reinstalling a server suspected of a hacking incident, including personal information leakage.
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Hyeong-bin = Regarding the hacking incident, Hong Beom-sik, CEO of LG Uplus [032640], said, "If there is a judgment from the judicial authorities and guidelines from the government, we will take appropriate responsibility accordingly."
CEO Hong appeared as a witness at the comprehensive audit of the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee of the National Assembly on the 23rd and responded as follows to a question from Rep. Gyeong-tae Cho of the People Power Party, who asked whether the penalty would be waived if it is confirmed that the hacking was intentionally hidden or the investigation was obstructed.
LG U+ is under police investigation on suspicion of interfering with the security authorities' forensic investigation by intentionally disposing and reinstalling a server suspected of a hacking incident, including personal information leakage, last year.
In response to a similar question from Representative Lee Hoon-ki of the Democratic Party of Korea, CEO Hong said, "Regardless of the reason, we are very sorry for causing various inconveniences," and added, "We promise that we will take all customer and user protection activities that we can in accordance with the judgment of the judicial authorities."
Regarding the scope of penalty exemption, he said, "We know the total number of customers, but it is currently difficult to determine what the scope is."
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Baek-hoon also said, "We will take action depending on the results of the investigation and the degree of responsibility," regarding whether to exempt the penalty.
Deputy Prime Minister Bae said that if it is confirmed that LG U+ intentionally concealed the hacking or interfered with the investigation and the user terminates the contract, LG U+ will be at fault.
Previously, SK Telecom [017670] and KT [030200] also waived penalties for customers who wanted to cancel their contracts following the recommendation of the authorities due to violations of terms and conditions after each hacking incident last year.
People Power Party lawmaker Seo Cheon-ho also pointed out that while LG U+ was being investigated for suspicions of concealing hacking, the fact that it received the highest rating for user protection from the Korea Media and Communications Commission in June of this year was promoted as an achievement.
Representative Seo criticized this as an issue directly related to corporate morality, and CEO Hong responded, "I am sorry for not looking into it more closely. I will improve."
At the National Assembly inspection on this day, it was also pointed out that LG U+'s SIM replacement guidance was insufficient.
Rep. Cho Kyeong-tae pointed out that LG U+ is replacing SIM cards in consideration of concerns about subscriber identification number (IMSI) leakage, but is not sufficiently explaining the reasons to customers.
Deputy Prime Minister Bae agreed with this and said, “I will guide LG U+ to provide guidance more faithfully.”
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Implementation of measures to exempt LG U+ from customer penalties as a result of investigation by judicial authorities
Likely · Within months

Daou Kiwoom Group was selected as the preferred negotiating partner for Munhak Dongne, a domestic publishing company that is seeking to sell. Daou Kiwoom Group was recently selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of JoongAng Ilbo, putting it on the verge of acquiring a large media company and publishing company.

On the 23rd, in the Seoul bond market, treasury bond interest rates all fell due to the drop in U.S. Treasury yields and the preference for safe assets.

KOSPI plunged to the 5,300 level during the day on the 23rd due to AI credit instability in the New York Stock Exchange, but rebounded and closed at the 5,500 level thanks to the news of SK Hynix's suspension of consideration for listing Solidim.

The Bank of Korea is pushing for a plan to require users who have previously transferred virtual assets overseas to report their domestic balances every month, sparking controversy over excessive collection of personal information.

Woori Financial Group reported a 15.7 percent on-year decline in third-quarter net profit to 1.04 trillion won due to a one-off factor, though the earnings still exceeded market expectations.

South Korean shares closed slightly higher on Friday following a sharp plunge in the previous session as investors hunted for bargains in major chip stocks, while SK hynix rose after suspending its US subsidiary's IPO plans.