Seoul: South Korean telecom operator KT Corp. announced that it will waive penalty fees for customers impacted by recent hacking incidents, which resulted in unauthorized micropayments and data breaches.
According to Yonhap News Agency, KT CEO Kim Young-shub informed lawmakers during a parliamentary audit by the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee that the company is notifying affected users about the waivers. KT plans to determine the extent of penalty fee exemptions after evaluating the findings of a joint government-private investigation team.
The waivers will be limited to customers impacted by unauthorized micropayments or illegal base station connections. Any potential broader exemptions will be contingent on the results of the ongoing investigation. On Tuesday, KT began the process of notifying subscribers about the hacking incidents and unauthorized small-payment charges, following criticism from lawmakers regarding the delayed disclosure of these occurrences. Notifications are expected to be completed by Wednesday.
In communications sent to customers, KT revealed that a potential personal data leak could have affected 22,227 users, with 368 customers confirmed to have incurred unauthorized small-payment charges. Rep. Park Chung-kwon of the main opposition People Power Party criticized KT for its slow response, highlighting that many affected customers had to pay penalty fees in the hundreds of thousands of won to terminate their subscriptions. Park called on the company to assume greater responsibility.
Kim pledged to take full responsibility, including the possibility of resignation, once the situation is under control. As of Friday, KT had identified 20 illegal micro base station identification codes suspected of facilitating unauthorized mobile payments, causing 368 users to suffer combined losses of approximately 240 million won (US$169,000). Micropayments refer to small-value digital purchases made via automated response systems or text messages, while direct carrier billing involves transactions processed directly by mobile operators.