The National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee criticized the government's inadequate response to the SK Telecom USIM hacking incident unanimously during a meeting on the 28th.
Lee Heon-seung, a member of the People Power Party, noted during a question-and-answer session that “the leakage of personal information from telecommunications companies like KT in 2014 and LG Uplus in 2018, and the delays in reporting and evasion of responsibility keep recurring, but the government is passive in monitoring,” and stated, “There is a need for effective systems such as the imposition of penalty surcharges.”
Member Kang Min-guk of the same party stated, “The hacking incident is like a situation where our home door lock password has been leaked,” adding, “The fact that information from 25 million people has been leaked is a matter of the company's existence.”
Kang also remarked that when Koh Hak-soo, the chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, said that the investigation into SK Telecom’s data breach could take more than a year, “it’s an indifferent and irresponsible statement, as if such incidents are happening in another country,” and asked, “Are you perhaps using the mobile service of KT?”
Yoon Han-hong, chairperson of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, asked Koh, “If hacking leads to changing telecommunications providers, shouldn’t the issue of penalty fees also be resolved? Please consider it.”
Lim Byung-deok of the Democratic Party of Korea pointed out, “It is important to prevent the expansion of hacking damage now, but if only those who voluntarily subscribe to USIM protection services are protected, what can we do?”
The Democratic Party also criticized Han Duck-soo, the acting president and Prime Minister, who is expected to declare his candidacy for the presidency this week. Kang Hoon-sik of the Democratic Party remarked, “There is a saying in Yeouido that says to watch the feet, not the words. The Prime Minister is already acting like a presidential candidate.”
Park Sang-hyuk of the same party mentioned the resignation of Son Young-taek, the Prime Minister's Chief Secretary, stating, “If the Prime Minister's Office employees act in concert with the Prime Minister, who is effectively engaged in political activities and election campaigning, they must be held strictly accountable for violating political neutrality as civil servants.”
In response, Bang Gi-seon, head of the Government Coordination Office, stated, “(Acting President Han) will never utilize his position for personal gain,” and said, “Please do not view the efforts for external credibility with a distorted perspective; it would be nice if you could see it as working hard for the country.”