[Exclusive] "Card Industry Rattled by Incidents" Unauthorized Email Access at Credit Finance Association..."Report to FSS After Internal Probe"

Card Division's Consumer Protection Department Implicated... Secretly Viewing Colleagues' Emails
The Association Launched an Internal Probe After Learning of the Case in Late December... "Plan to Report to the FSS Once Completed"
Credit Finance Association Chairman Post Vacant for Four Months After Term Expired... Swift Appointment Process Needed

It has been confirmed that the Credit Finance Association, which serves as the control tower for the card and other credit finance company sectors, is conducting an internal audit after discovering that an internal employee accessed a colleague's email account without authorization and frequently viewed work-related emails. As financial incidents and internal control issues continue to occur across the card industry, criticism is mounting that internal management and discipline within the association have become lax, exacerbated by the absence of an association chairman.

According to the financial sector on February 5, the Credit Finance Association became aware in mid-December last year that an employee of the Consumer Protection Department in the Card Division had secretly accessed emails using a colleague's intranet account ID, and launched an internal audit. Immediately after confirming the facts, the association placed the employee on standby and is investigating the circumstances of the case, led by the Audit Department.

An association official explained, "There was no theft of information to the outside or hacking of the system. The employee obtained the ID and password of a colleague with whom they had a personal relationship and viewed the emails," adding, "We decided that an investigation was necessary from the perspective of internal control and therefore placed the employee on standby."

It has been identified that some of the problematic emails contained content related to work consultations with member companies, including standalone credit card companies. However, the specific contents of the documents, numerical data, and the period or frequency of access have not yet been confirmed.

It is also still under investigation when the employee began viewing the emails, how frequently the emails were accessed, and how many accounts were affected. An association official said, "It is difficult to determine when the email viewing started and how many emails were accessed," adding, "We are currently conducting fact-checking procedures with the employees."

The association stated that, after seeking advice from an external law firm in connection with this matter, it received a response that the case does not constitute information leakage and therefore is not subject to mandatory reporting to the Financial Supervisory Service. However, in light of the fact that emails related to member companies' work were included, the association plans to share the results with the Financial Supervisory Service as soon as the internal audit is completed.

Once the investigation is concluded, the association plans to determine whether internal regulations were violated through a personnel committee, and to decide the level of disciplinary action while also preparing institutional improvements and measures to prevent recurrence. The association stated, "We will take necessary measures after conducting inspections and internal and external legal reviews."

Within and outside the financial sector, there are growing calls for the swift initiation of procedures to appoint a new chairman, given the prolonged vacancy of the Credit Finance Association chairman position. Although the term of Jeong Wankyu, Chairman of the Credit Finance Association, ended on October 5 last year, even as of now, four months later, the schedule for the Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee to select his successor has not yet been finalized.

An industry official said, "With the chairman effectively absent for as long as four months, there is talk that the atmosphere among association employees has become unsettled and discipline has loosened somewhat," adding, "Given that various incidents, including the Lotte Card incident, continue without letup, and that the financial authorities are emphasizing consumer protection, the occurrence of this case will inevitably undermine trust in the industry."