Senior Secretary Kim Eun-hye on Kakao Outage: "Neglecting Corporate Responsibility Could Escalate into National Security Risk"

Senior Secretary Kim: "The State Must Respond When Market Order Is Distorted or Harmful Effects Arise"
Regarding the Formation of the Cybersecurity TF: "An Era Where Economy Is Security and Security Is Economy"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 17th, the Presidential Office expressed renewed concerns regarding the 'Kakao outage incident,' stating, "If such an incident occurs due to hacking, it immediately becomes a national security issue," and added, "If the natural corporate responsibilities are neglected, it will escalate into a national security risk."

This is interpreted as an effort to block criticisms from some quarters that President Yoon Suk-yeol's view of Kakao as a monopoly and the government's response, including the National Security Office's formation of an intergovernmental Cybersecurity Task Force (TF), are excessive measures.

Kim Eun-hye, the Chief Public Relations Officer, stated in a written briefing on the Kakao outage incident that "the data communication infrastructure representing the Republic of Korea has not been fully restored even after three days as of today."

Chief Kim emphasized the philosophy that although the Yoon Suk-yeol administration pursues a free market economy system, the government must respond if the public suffers due to corporate irresponsibility.

She said, "The freedom emphasized by the new government is to guarantee fair competition and innovation in the market. We fundamentally respect autonomy and creativity rather than legally adjudicating relationships between companies or between companies and consumers," adding, "However, monopolies are the point where such harms occur. If market order is distorted and damages arise, the state must inevitably respond."

In particular, she stressed, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration draws a line against corporate neglect of responsibility," and "this contradicts the principles and philosophy of self-regulation."

Chief Kim criticized, "Recently, leading IT countries and global companies worldwide consider 'resilience' as the most important factor when operating online platforms," and added, "It is the corporate responsibility and social promise to promptly resolve issues and restore the original state in emergencies."

Furthermore, she explained, "Smooth operation of online platforms and preparedness for risk response are essential for the public's normal daily life," and "The reason President Yoon called Kakao a de facto national backbone communication network is because it has over 40 million subscribers and is deeply connected to the livelihoods of almost all Korean citizens."

She also pointed out that the prolonged incomplete recovery from the Kakao outage incident that occurred on the 15th is a factor the government must review. Chief Kim stated, "If abnormalities occur in the platform due to hacking or disasters, it can spread as a system risk. To prevent this, platform operators must invest in and establish cybersecurity, server, and data stabilization measures in advance." This implies the need for a system to check whether monopoly platform companies fulfill their 'social responsibility to prevent system risks.'

Regarding President Yoon's statement during his morning commute that "the state must institutionally respond to market distortions caused by monopolies in the private sector," Chief Kim explained, "Along with a thorough cause analysis of the Kakao incident, it was a request for a public-private reexamination to ensure that the de facto national backbone communication network does not privatize profits while socializing costs."

On the Presidential Office's decision to form the Cybersecurity TF on the same day, she conveyed, "In an era where the economy is security and security is the economy, the Cybersecurity TF was formed under the President's directive to carefully manage situations where significant disruptions to data communication networks could pose national security issues, as in this case."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.