Yes24 Co-CEOs Kim Sunhwan and Choi Sera Issue Official Apology
"Deeply Bow Our Heads in Apology"
"Working with Government Agencies on Recovery"
"Compensation to Be Provided by Service Type"
Kim Sunhwan and Choi Sera, co-CEOs of the online bookstore Yes24, which has been experiencing access disruptions since June 9 due to a ransomware hacking incident, issued an official apology on June 16.
In their statement on June 16, Kim Seokhwan and Choi Sera said, "On June 9, 2025, Yes24 suffered a company-wide system paralysis and service outage due to a ransomware attack by external forces," adding, "We deeply bow our heads and apologize to all customers, partners, and everyone affected by this incident."
They also stated, "We are currently mobilizing all available resources to focus on recovery and restoring trust," and added, "Yes24 is prioritizing internal analysis and recovery, while also cooperating closely with relevant government agencies to fully support the ongoing investigation."
Regarding the lack of transparent communication immediately after the incident, they explained, "Due to the nature of a ransomware attack, the hackers may monitor external reactions or make additional threats, so we had to carefully consider the timing and extent of information disclosure," and apologized again, saying, "We sincerely apologize for not being able to deliver accurate information to our customers more quickly and properly."
On compensation, they said, "We are preparing compensation standards tailored to each type of service for customers who experienced inconvenience due to the service outage," and added, "We will announce the first round of compensation today, and any additional compensation plans will be communicated again via notices on our website."
They also announced measures to prevent recurrence. The two CEOs said, "Taking this incident as an opportunity, we will reexamine our security system from the ground up. We will introduce an external security advisory group and increase our security budget to strengthen the platform's reliability and resilience from system design to overall operations." They continued, "We will actively participate in discussions with the government and industry to improve systems for a safer digital ecosystem, and will strive to fulfill our social responsibilities as a responsible company."
Since June 9, Yes24's services have been suspended, but core services such as the purchase of books, music, stationery, eBooks, ticketing, and order payments have now been restored. However, features such as book reviews and book-related communication are still in the process of being restored.
Yes24 stated that it is working with relevant government agencies (KISA) and external security experts to investigate the cause of the incident and conduct security diagnostics, and promised to transparently disclose the results of the investigation by the relevant agencies once they become available.
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