Key facts
- The FSC said 40 data leak incidents were reported at 37 companies since September 30.
- Funds held by some smaller brokerages, insurers and online financial businesses were stolen, the FSC said.
- The FSC said customers' money remained intact and the leaked data excluded sensitive identifiers.
- The FSC said it will run security checks at 580 financial companies and review internal security controls by the end of November.
- FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon said management, including the CEO, would be held accountable under relevant laws.
More than 470,000 personal data records leaked from 37 companies across South Korea's financial sector over the past month, with stolen funds estimated at 1 billion won ($745,000), the Financial Services Commission said on November 5.
The FSC said 40 data leak incidents had been reported at the 37 companies since September 30, when the first leak was detected. The companies include four commercial banks, five financial investment firms, three insurance firms and five savings banks.
The regulator said the leaked data did not include sensitive personal information usable for illegal financial transactions, such as customers' names, national identification numbers or bank account numbers. Funds held by some smaller brokerages, insurers and online financial businesses were stolen, while customers' money remained intact, the FSC said.
The FSC held a meeting with officials from financial trade associations and government agencies, including the Financial Supervisory Service and the Financial Security Institute, to review data protection systems and artificial intelligence capabilities in the financial sector.
"We will not tolerate practices that cause incidents or exacerbate damage by ignoring known security risks, neglecting even basic management duties or relying on perfunctory inspections and complacent responses," FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon said. "We will strictly hold management, including the CEO, accountable in accordance with relevant laws and regulations for serious management failures or negligence in response."
The FSC said it will conduct security checks at 580 financial companies across the sector and review their internal security control systems by the end of November.