President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday ordered a thorough investigation into a string of personal data breaches at major banks and secondary financial firms.
“Take the matter with the utmost seriousness and make every effort to conduct a thorough investigation and draw up countermeasures,” Lee said, according to a statement from presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.
A series of cyberattacks has recently hit banks and nonbanking financial firms.
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Shinhan Bank announced on Thursday that it had suffered a data breach involving the personal information of about 25,000 customers. A day later, Hana Bank and KB Kookmin Bank reported a leak affecting 89 and 119 people, respectively. BNK Busan Bank also stated on Friday that the personal information of 11 outsourced developers had been compromised.
Lenders and savings banks have been affected as well.
Yegaram Savings Bank, a secondary financial institution not subject to the Banking Act, reported a breach involving roughly 40,000 customers, and Hyundai Capital did the same with a leak comprising the personal information of 146 mortgage loan agents.
However, neither securities firms, insurers and credit card companies nor state-run banks such as the Industrial Bank of Korea and the Export-Import Bank of Korea have so far shown any signs of experiencing similar cyberattacks.
Also on Sunday, Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Eog-weon said during an emergency meeting that “the possibility of AI-powered attacks cannot be ruled out.”
“The entire financial sector needs to maintain the highest level of vigilance over these breaches,” he said at the Government Complex Seoul.
The meeting brought together the FSC chair and Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Lee Chan-jin; the heads of all financial industry associations; and senior executives of the affected firms, including those from Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank, BNK Busan Bank, Hyundai Capital, Yegaram Savings Bank and Welcome Savings Bank.
FSC Chairman Lee also ordered financial firms to review their entire security systems and close any gaps.
“We must hurry to put security that uses AI in place to defend against AI attacks,” he said.
Update, Oct. 4, 2026: Added Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon’s remarks at the emergency meeting.
