Personal Information Commission: "Additional KT Small Payment Leak Reported... Total of 20,030 Affected"

Leak of Mobile Phone Numbers, IMEI, and IMSI Confirmed

The Personal Information Protection Commission announced that it received a second round of personal information leak reports at 1:00 p.m. on September 18, in connection with KT's unauthorized small payment incident.

Previously, on September 11, KT confirmed the suspected leak of subscriber identification numbers (IMSI) belonging to 5,561 subscribers and filed the initial report.

Personal Information Protection Commission logo. Provided by the Personal Information Protection Commission

In KT's additional report submitted on this day, it was revealed that a total of 20,030 users (including MVNO users), on a cumulative basis, had their IMSI, device identification numbers (IMEI), and mobile phone numbers potentially leaked.

KT held a press conference on the same day, announcing that the number of affected customers had increased from 278 to 362, and that the total cumulative amount of damages had reached 240 million won. Additionally, KT stated it would provide free USIM replacement and USIM protection service enrollment support for affected customers. The company also pledged to ensure that affected customers would not have to personally cover the small payment amounts, and to offer a free "KT Safe Assurance Insurance" (tentative name) for three years to compensate for financial fraud damages.

A representative from the Personal Information Protection Commission stated, "We began our investigation on September 10 and are currently confirming the specific circumstances of the leak, the scope of damages, and whether safety obligations were followed. If any violations of the law are found, including those in the additional report, we will take action in accordance with relevant regulations."