Prosecutor General: "Voice Phishing Needs More Than Criminal Punishment... Telecom Companies Must Establish Prevention Measures"

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok said on the 8th, "It is insufficient to protect the public's assets solely by criminally punishing voice phishing through the prosecution," adding, "It is much more effective for telecommunications companies to establish preventive measures that block voice phishing in advance by utilizing advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI)."

On the same day, Prosecutor General Lee visited the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA) located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and held a meeting with officials to discuss "measures for the prevention and response to voice phishing crimes." He said, "The eldest brother of the famous physician Bian Que was said to have known in advance that a patient would fall ill and removed the cause beforehand. I expect telecommunications companies and financial institutions to play the role of such physicians in protecting the public's assets." KTOA is a corporate association with 10 telecommunications operators as members, including KT, SK Telecom, and LG Uplus, aimed at the development of telecommunications business and the establishment of a social informatization infrastructure.

Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok is attending a meeting on "Measures to Prevent and Respond to Voice Phishing Crimes" at the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA) located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 8th, listening to remarks. (Photo by Supreme Prosecutors' Office)

Voice phishing crimes, which first occurred in 2006, are representative infringements on people's livelihoods. As of 2021, the annual number of cases reached 30,982, with damages amounting to 774.4 billion KRW. However, since the government formed the "Voice Phishing Crime Government Joint Investigation Team (Joint Investigation Team)" at the intergovernmental level in July 2022?comprising the prosecution, police, National Tax Service, Customs Service, Financial Services Commission, and Korea Communications Commission?to eradicate voice phishing crimes, both the number of cases and the amount of damages have been on a declining trend. The figures were 21,832 cases (damages of 543.8 billion KRW) in 2022 and 18,902 cases (damages of 447.2 billion KRW) in 2023.

However, since the end of last year, voice phishing crimes have been diversifying in type and the number of cases is increasing again. Accordingly, at the meeting, participants shared awareness of the need for telecommunications companies to prepare technical preventive measures and strengthen responses to new types of voice phishing crimes, and discussed countermeasures to block crimes in the "telecommunications sector."

Kim Young-seop, Chairman of the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (CEO of KT), said, "Telecommunications companies will continue to implement various measures to ensure the public’s safe communication life," adding, "To respond to increasingly sophisticated voice phishing, we will actively utilize AI technology to prevent damage to the public."