President briefed on personal data breaches at financial and public institutions

Directs authorities to take all measures to prevent recurrence

President Lee Jae Myung delivers opening remarks at a civil service innovation case briefing held in Sejong on Friday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung delivers opening remarks at a civil service innovation case briefing held in Sejong on Friday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung has ordered a thorough investigation into a series of hacking incidents in which AI agents were used to breach major commercial banks and other financial institutions.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said Sunday that Lee had been briefed on recent personal data breaches at financial and public institutions and their response status. Lee directed authorities to treat the matter with the utmost seriousness and to spare no effort in conducting a thorough investigation and devising countermeasures, Kang said.

According to the financial sector, personal data leaks have been confirmed at Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hana and BNK Busan Bank, with signs emerging that savings banks, capital companies and mutual finance institutions were also broadly exposed to hacking threats. The incidents have fueled growing anxiety among customers of the affected institutions.

In response, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won and Financial Supervisory Service Director General Lee Chan-jin plan to convene an emergency inspection meeting Sunday afternoon at Government Complex Seoul, bringing together the heads of all financial sector associations and the CEOs of institutions where breaches occurred.

Meanwhile, as a string of data breaches tied to AI agent-based hacking attacks continues to come to light, Welcome Savings Bank confirmed Sunday that corporate customer data had also been leaked and reported the incident to regulators.

Welcome Savings Bank estimated that information on up to 2,200 corporate clients — including company names, contact persons' names, email addresses and phone numbers — may have been compromised. The bank said it is currently working to determine the exact cause and full extent of the breach.


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