Government: "KT Unauthorized Small Payment Damages Total 170 Million Won, No Charges... SKT and LG Uplus Also Take Preventive Measures" (Comprehensive)

Three Major Telecom Companies Completely Restrict Network Access for New Ultra-Small Base Stations
Personal Information Leak to Be Investigated Separately by the Personal Information Protection Commission

Ryu Jemyung, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, is attending a briefing on September 10 at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, regarding the KT unauthorized small payment breach incident. KT officials present are taking notes. 2025.9.10 Photo by Cho Yongjun

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that a total of 278 cases of damage amounting to approximately 170 million won have been confirmed in relation to the recent unauthorized small payment incident targeting KT customers. The government stated that KT will not charge customers for the damages, and that the same measure will be applied by other telecommunications companies should similar small payment incidents occur.

At a briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on September 10, Ryu Jemyung, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "We have determined this situation to be a serious security breach and have formed a joint public-private investigation team to conduct a thorough investigation. We will rigorously establish measures to support victims and prevent recurrence."

According to the government and KT, the incident came to light when signs of illegal micro base stations (virtual base stations) not registered on the KT network were detected. KT began blocking abnormal signal patterns from the early morning of September 5, but initially misidentified the issue as a smishing infection and did not report it as a security breach. After further analysis of victims' call records, KT confirmed the connection to unregistered base stations on the afternoon of September 8 and reported it as a security breach to the Ministry of Science and ICT later that evening.

The Ministry of Science and ICT immediately ordered an investigation of all KT base stations, and on September 9, KT reported that no additional illegal base stations were found. The government then requested inspections from SK Telecom and LG Uplus, and at an emergency inspection meeting on September 10, both companies reported that no illegal base stations had been discovered.

According to KT's own tally, there were 177 customer service complaints totaling 77.82 million won. When adding damages identified through a comprehensive analysis of all call records, the total rises to 278 cases and approximately 170 million won. KT announced that it will not charge customers for the entire amount. The government has also required other telecommunications companies to apply the same measure in the event of small payment damages.

The Ministry of Science and ICT explained that, to prevent further damage from illegal equipment, all three major telecommunications companies have completely restricted network access for new micro base stations. KT has also shared information on abnormal traffic patterns it identified with SK Telecom and LG Uplus, who have begun detailed inspections.

Regarding the possibility of personal information leakage related to this incident, the Personal Information Protection Commission will conduct a separate investigation. Additionally, the government stated that it does not rule out the possibility of breaches using other methods besides illegal base stations and will verify this through the joint investigation team.

Vice Minister Ryu stated, "Recently, security breaches targeting telecommunications companies have been occurring one after another. We will conduct a comprehensive security inspection of network management at all three major telecommunications companies and, based on the findings, announce fundamental countermeasures soon."