[Market Focus] Biometric and Facial Recognition Stocks Surge Amid SKT Hacking Fallout

On April 29, stocks related to security technologies utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) are surging. This is interpreted as a result of heightened interest in security following the SK Telecom SIM card hacking incident.

As of 9:40 a.m. on this day, Alchera is trading at 1,869 won, up 201 won (12.05%) from the previous trading day. Alchera is a company that provides AI-based facial recognition, video analysis, and image analysis solutions.

On the 28th, customers visiting an official SK Telecom certified agency in Jung-gu, Seoul, are waiting to replace their SIM cards. SK Telecom plans to offer free SIM card replacement services to subscribers starting today. 2025.4.28. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Other companies are also on the rise, including Union Biometrics, a fingerprint recognition specialist (up 11.28%), and SisonAI, an AI video security solution provider (up 11.14%).

This appears to be due to increased anxiety over information leaks following the SK Telecom hacking incident, which has driven investor sentiment toward security stocks.

KB Kookmin Bank, starting from 5:00 p.m. the previous day, has introduced an additional "facial authentication" step when issuing certificates exclusively to SKT customers. In addition, financial institutions such as Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank have implemented additional authentication procedures, such as facial recognition, for financial transactions.