Major Companies' Average Annual Information Security Investment: 2.9 Billion Won... Only 3% of SK Telecom's Level

Only 10 Companies Invested Over 100 Billion Won in Information Security Over Three Years

Amid heightened awareness of cybersecurity following the SK Telecom security incident, it has been found that over the past three years, only 10 companies in South Korea have invested more than 100 billion won in information security.

In particular, the annual information security investment by major companies falls short of 3 billion won, which is just 3% of SK Telecom's investment, raising concerns about insufficient preparedness for future cyberattacks.

According to industry sources and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) Information Security Disclosure Portal on May 26, only 10 domestic companies invested more than 100 billion won in information security from 2021 to 2023.

Since the mandatory disclosure of information security investments was introduced in 2022 (based on 2021 performance), Samsung Electronics has made the largest investments. Samsung Electronics invested 17.17 billion won in 2021, 24.35 billion won in 2022, and 29.74 billion won in 2023, totaling 71.26 billion won over three years. KT ranked second, spending a total of 32.74 billion won on information security during the same period.

SK Telecom, which recently suffered a hacking incident, together with SK Broadband, invested 8.61 billion won in 2021, 7.87 billion won in 2022, and 8.67 billion won in 2023 in the wired and wireless telecommunications sector, reaching a total of 25.15 billion won over three years and ranking third.

Following them, Coupang invested 18.34 billion won, SK Hynix 17.43 billion won, LG Uplus 13.66 billion won, Samsung SDS 13.07 billion won, Woori Bank 12.46 billion won, Naver 11.83 billion won, and LG Electronics 11.7 billion won, each investing more than 10 billion won.

The mandatory information security disclosure system, implemented in 2022, requires telecommunications carriers with circuit facilities and KOSPI or KOSDAQ-listed companies with annual sales of 300 billion won or more to disclose their security investment amounts and dedicated personnel status.

In 2024 (based on 2023 performance), 655 companies were subject to mandatory disclosure, and with an additional 91 companies participating voluntarily, a total of 746 companies disclosed their investment status.

The total amount spent by these companies on information security in 2023 reached 2.1196 trillion won. Compared to the first year of the system (2021, with 658 companies investing 1.5072 trillion won), the number of participating companies increased by 13.4%, while the total investment amount rose by 40.6%. The average investment per company also increased by 24.5%, from 2.3 billion won in 2021 to 2.9 billion won in 2023.