People Power Party Demands MBK Chairman Kim Byung-joo Testify at National Assembly Audit over Lotte Card Hacking Incident

Opposition Holds Meeting on Victim Protection and Prevention Measures
"From the Homeplus Incident to Lotte Card: 'AgainBK'"

On September 23, the People Power Party announced its decision to designate Kim Byung-joo, Chairman of MBK Partners, as a witness for the upcoming National Assembly audit, in connection with the recent Lotte Card hacking incident.

Members of the People Power Party on the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee held a meeting that morning to assess the damage caused by the Lotte Card hacking incident and to discuss victim protection measures and policies to prevent recurrence. Attendees included Yoon Han-hong, Chairman of the Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party; Kang Min-guk, the opposition secretary of the committee; Jo Jwa-jin, CEO of Lotte Card; and Yoon Jong-ha, Vice Chairman of MBK Partners.

Jo Jwa-jin, CEO of Lotte Card (right), and Yoon Jong-ha, Vice Chairman of MBK Partners, are attending the "Lotte Card Personal Information Leakage Incident, Victim Protection Measures and Recurrence Prevention Policy Meeting" hosted by the People Power Party at the National Assembly on the 23rd. 2025.9.23 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Chairman Yoon stated, "Recently, a series of large-scale hacking and security incidents have left the public feeling anxious," and added, "The hacking that began with SK has not only resulted in personal information leaks but has also caused damage to the public’s assets, which is a serious matter."

Regarding the Lotte Card hacking incident, he criticized, "Not only card numbers but also CVC numbers and other critical personal information were hacked. Approximately 300,000 victims had their core data leaked," and emphasized, "It is not just credit information, but even the public’s assets are now being compromised."

He specifically pointed out Chairman Kim Byung-joo’s absence from the meeting. Chairman Yoon remarked, "We requested the attendance of both Lotte Card and Chairman Kim of MBK Partners, the major shareholder of Lotte Card, to verify whether anything was concealed or if there were any lapses in security measures. However, once again, he did not attend today." He stressed, "If there are shortcomings, we will take all necessary actions to ensure that Chairman Kim appears before the National Assembly during the upcoming audit."

Kang Min-guk, the opposition secretary of the Political Affairs Committee, criticized Lotte Card for its delayed response. Assemblyman Kang stated, "It took 18 days for Lotte Card to belatedly report the breach, and while they initially reported to the Financial Supervisory Service that 1.7 gigabytes (GB) of information had been leaked, it was later confirmed that over 200GB-more than 100 times that amount-had actually been compromised," adding, "Lotte Card’s response is simply unacceptable."

He continued, "MBK Partners, which was also at the center of the Homeplus incident, is involved again. People are now calling them 'AgainBK' as a shorthand." Assemblyman Kang added, "While the Fair Trade Commission and the Personal Information Protection Commission usually participate in the National Assembly audit during the last week, this time they will join in the very first week," and emphasized, "We will designate Chairman Kim as a witness for the audit."

He further stated, "As essential items for modern life-mobile phones and credit cards-are both being compromised, everything is being exposed," and added, "There is a perspective that these hacking incidents are the result of financial companies, which handle the public’s sensitive and important personal information, focusing solely on short-term profits and neglecting the necessity of information protection, leading to these man-made disasters."

Jo Jwa-jin, CEO of Lotte Card, who attended the meeting, said, "I will honestly disclose the details of the incident, the scope of the information leak, the response measures for consumer protection, and the plans for preventing recurrence," and added, "We will move quickly and implement the appropriate measures proactively."

During the meeting, People Power Party members of the Political Affairs Committee strongly criticized Lotte Card, MBK Partners, and the Financial Security Institute. Assemblyman Kim Sang-hoon of the People Power Party stated, "From the customer’s perspective, simply having used Lotte Card could cause emotional harm," and added, "It is not enough to explain that there is no actual risk of financial loss."

Assemblyman Yoo Young-ha of the People Power Party pointed out that the Financial Security Institute had granted Lotte Card the highest security management certification just two days before the incident, criticizing, "What is the purpose of the Financial Security Institute’s existence?" He further said, "Whenever an incident occurs, they only talk about severe punishment, but instead of just talking about punishment after the fact, they should focus on prevention."

According to Lotte Card, approximately 200GB of data was leaked in this hacking incident, resulting in the exposure of information belonging to 2.97 million members. Among them, 280,000 individuals had their card numbers, two digits of their passwords, and their CVC numbers compromised.