[2025 Audit] KT CEO Kim Youngsub: "Penalty Fee Waiver and Compensation for Customers to Be Reviewed After Investigation"

In Response to Calls for Resignation, Kim Says
"I Will Take Appropriate Responsibility After Resolving the Situation"

Kim Youngsub, CEO of KT, addressed demands for a waiver of penalty fees for all customers in relation to the recent customer data breach and unauthorized small payment incidents, stating, "We will make a decision after comprehensively considering the final investigation results and the extent of customer damages."

On October 21, during the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee audit, CEO Kim responded to a question from Hwang Jeonga, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, about whether KT would waive penalty fees for all customers. He said, "We intend to begin compensating for financial damages caused by the data breach," and added, "We are actively considering additional compensation such as USIM replacement, device replacement support, and insurance enrollment."

Yonhap News

Lawmaker Hwang called for CEO Kim's resignation, pointing out that the number of victims of KT's unauthorized small payment charges and data breach continues to rise, and that the initial connection time of illegal femtocells (small base stations) differs from previous announcements.

There was also criticism regarding KT's delayed response after the security incident. Noh Jongmyeon, another lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, compared KT's response to SK Telecom's USIM data hacking incident in April, stating, "After detecting the security incident, it took SK Telecom 42 hours to respond, whereas it took KT at least seven days." He further pointed out, "SK Telecom notified all customers via text message within three days of the hacking, but KT has only informed those affected by unauthorized small payments."

When asked by Lawmaker Noh whether KT would introduce a reasonable compensation program for affected customers, CEO Kim replied, "We will consider it as proactively as possible."

In response to a question from Lawmaker Kim Wooyoung of the Democratic Party of Korea, who suggested that CEO Kim should immediately step down to take responsibility for the situation, Kim stated, "The priority right now is to resolve the situation," and added, "Once the situation is under control to a certain extent, I believe it is necessary to take reasonable and appropriate responsibility."

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