"Joint public-private investigation results may take up to two months"
"Need to further review liability interpretations from four law firms"
"SKT likely to consider some compensation for psychological damages"
Yoo Sangim, Minister of Science and ICT, stated on May 9 that a decision regarding whether SK Telecom subscribers will be exempt from penalty charges following the hacking incident can only be made around the end of June, when the results of the joint public-private investigation team are expected.
At a monthly briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex that day, Minister Yoo said, "The results of the joint public-private investigation team regarding the SKT hacking incident are expected to be released around the end of June," adding, "It may take up to two months." He further explained, "Since the first announcement last month, we have been meticulously investigating the servers to determine whether there are any new issues."
Regarding the penalty charge exemption, he said, "We have received reports from four law firms on the interpretation of liability, but since I have only seen the summaries, the results are not clear," and added, "We need to review the facts uncovered by the joint public-private investigation team together before making a decision."
Minister Yoo emphasized, "The penalty charge issue could be a matter of survival for SKT, so we must approach it with caution," and continued, "To determine liability under the terms and conditions, we need to examine in detail whether the company fulfilled its security responsibilities, how the hacker infiltrated, and how SKT responded."
Currently, SKT is not accepting new subscribers. Regarding this, Minister Yoo explained, "Through administrative guidance, we suspended new subscriptions due to a significant shortage of USIM cards," and added, "SKT has promised to compensate self-employed business owners for their business losses."
He further stated, "For a fundamental solution, if we were to replace the USIM cards of all subscribers, including the 8 million people who have made reservations, we would need 25 million USIM cards, which means it would take three to four months," and added, "I believe it is appropriate to suspend new subscriptions until we are completely satisfied."
Regarding additional malware infections, he said, "A total of 12 types of malware have been identified so far, but there was nothing unusual," and added, "If there are any additional matters that need to be announced, we will make a second announcement."
Regarding the opinion that SKT should compensate subscribers for damages beyond penalty charge exemptions, Minister Yoo said, "It is a decision for SKT to make, but I believe they will consider, to some extent, compensation for customers' psychological damages."
On cybersecurity, he said, "As we enter the presidential election phase, it is a time when nationwide cyber prevention is necessary," and added, "We have requested a legal interpretation from the Ministry of Government Legislation, considering the need to implement a public-private-military integrated system with the National Intelligence Service as the control tower to ensure cyber prevention during the election period."
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