MSIT Affiliated Institutions Receive "Insufficient" Ratings in Information Security Management

Join Chul: "Threat to National Security... Urgent Need to Expand Dedicated Personnel"

Join Chul, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker.

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) conducted an inspection of information security management at 63 affiliated institutions and found that many of them received an "insufficient" rating for three to four consecutive years. Amid growing public anxiety following incidents such as the SKT hacking case and the KT small payment crisis, criticism is mounting that the MSIT, which is responsible for overseeing cybersecurity, is failing to properly manage and supervise even its own affiliated institutions.

On September 22, Join Chul, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker representing Gwangju Seo-gu Gap, analyzed the results of the past five years of information security management inspections submitted by the MSIT. The analysis revealed that eight institutions-including the Korea Science Academy of KAIST, the Institute for Basic Science, the National Institute of Green Technology, the Busan National Science Museum, the Korea Brain Research Institute, the Software Policy and Research Institute, the Korea Nanotechnology Research Society, and the Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences-received an "insufficient" rating for four consecutive years.

In particular, these "insufficient" ratings were concentrated among affiliated research institutes. The Software Policy and Research Institute under the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), the National Institute of Green Technology under the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), the Institute for Basic Science and the Korea Science Academy of KAIST under the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), the Korea Brain Research Institute under the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), and the Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences under the Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences (KIRAMS) all received insufficient ratings. This clearly demonstrates the urgent need for fundamental measures by the MSIT regarding the management of affiliated institutions.

There are also eight institutions that received an "insufficient" rating for three consecutive years. The National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST), which is responsible for overseeing 23 government-funded science and technology research institutes, recorded "insufficient" ratings from 2021 to 2023. The National Information Society Agency (NIA), which specializes in AI, a core national strategic technology, also received an insufficient rating.

According to the "2025 National Information Security White Paper," in 2024, 54.23% of information security departments in national and public institutions consisted of only one to four personnel, making up the largest proportion. This is an increase from 40.54% in 2022 and 48.57% in 2023, indicating that the proportion of dedicated information security staff continues to decrease.

In fact, at the National Institute of Green Technology, which received an insufficient rating for four consecutive years, there were zero dedicated personnel for the past five years, with only one concurrent staff member handling information security work. The National Institute of Toxicological Research, which received an insufficient rating for three consecutive years, also had only one dedicated staff member. Even the National Research Council of Science & Technology, which oversees all government-funded research institutes, had only one dedicated staff member over the past five years.

Join Chul emphasized, "The fact that affiliated institutions have received insufficient ratings for four consecutive years is a serious example of the structural failure of the MSIT's management and supervision," and added, "Cybersecurity in public institutions is directly linked to national security. The MSIT must immediately implement fundamental measures, such as increasing the information security budget and expanding dedicated personnel."

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