Seoul: The head of the country's financial watchdog announced plans on Tuesday for his agency, alongside the financial regulator, to draft a bill focused on protecting financial consumer data. This development comes amid growing concerns over cybersecurity threats and data breaches in the financial sector.

According to Yonhap News Agency, during a parliamentary inspection, Lee Chan-jin, the governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), stated that the proposed bill would mandate financial companies to significantly invest in IT systems to prevent cybersecurity breaches and protect consumer data. The bill would also require virtual asset exchanges to enhance their consumer data protection measures.

Lee's announcement follows a recent data breach involving Lotte Card Co., the nation's fifth-largest card issuer, where personal data of approximately 3 million customers was compromised in a hacking incident. This breach is the latest in a series of significant cyberattack cases affecting the financial industry, with Seoul Guarantee Insurance previously experiencing a similar incident.

The financial regulator had earlier pledged to take stringent actions against any rule violations by Lotte Card, promising to impose the highest-ever penalty on the card issuer in the event of serious violations. The proposed bill aims to strengthen the industry's cybersecurity framework and prevent such incidents in the future.