The National Assembly Science and ICT Committee and the Korea Communications Commission have selected TVING CEO Choi Ju-hee and CJ ENM CEO Yoon Sang-hyun as witnesses for this year’s National Audit concerning the incident involving the theft of 40 million accounts.
On the morning of the 22nd, the National Assembly Science and ICT Committee held a plenary session at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, and approved the bill titled "Request for Appearance of Witnesses and Reference Persons for the 2026 National Audit." As a result of that day’s discussion, 29 general witnesses and 13 reference persons were selected. Those selected as witnesses will receive an appearance request from the National Assembly; refusing to appear without valid grounds may result in imprisonment of up to three years or a fine ranging from 10 million won to 30 million won.
Reviewing the list of witnesses, first, for next month’s Ministry of Science and ICT audit on the 6th, Choi Ju-hui (CEO) and Yoon Sang-hyeon (CEO) are summoned as witnesses to inquire about the circumstances of the TVING hacking incident and customer compensation. This is interpreted as an intent to question not only the company where the personal data breach occurred but also its parent company’s CEO regarding management and control systems related to personal information.
Earlier, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the results of its investigation into the TVING personal data breach incident that occurred at the end of May this year, revealing that a total of 39.54 million accounts (including duplicates) were leaked: 22.06 million active accounts, 17.37 million inactive accounts (8.5 million dormant and 8.87 million withdrawn), and 110,000 test accounts. The leaked information also included 361 projects (totaling 30.35 GB) that TVING was developing, as well as CI (connection information) referred to as online resident registration numbers.
The National Assembly is expected to question Choi (CEO) and others regarding the circumstances of the personal data breach, responsibility for inadequate protection systems, and the reasons for delayed reporting to authorities. Additionally, shortly after the Ministry’s announcement, TVING proposed compensation measures including 5,000 won worth of points per person, hacking and phishing peace-of-mind insurance, and upgrades to premium viewing environments; the appropriateness of these measures is also expected to be scrutinized.
The National Assembly Science and ICT Committee plans to summon SK Telecom’s Lee Jong-hyun, Chief Information Security Officer, as a witness on the same day regarding the large-scale personal data breach incident that occurred last year. This is to verify the status of SIM card information protection, improvements in information security management systems, compensation for user damages, and measures taken to prevent recurrence. The committee also decided to summon KT’s Lee Sang-woon, Jeong Bo-bo-an (Head) (Executive Vice President), and LG Uplus’ Hong Kwan-hee, Head of Information Security Center (Executive Vice President), to question the three major mobile carriers on their response measures following personal data breach incidents.
In addition, regarding recent consecutive personal data breaches, the witness list includes Meta Korea CEO Kim Jin-a, Woowa Brothers CISO Kim Jeong-hoon, Duo CEO Park Soo-kyung, Gangnam Unnie CEO Hong Seung-il, Toss Payment CEO Im Han-wook, Toss Payments CISO Shin Yong-seok, and Coupang CISO Brett Anthony Matthers.
Regarding the controversy over fees charged by the Google Play Store, Google Korea President Yoon Gu is required to appear as a witness. Regarding responsibility for neglecting the distribution of narcotics through social media, X (formerly Twitter) Korea CEO Shin Chang-seop is also required to appear as a witness. Apple Korea Representative Mark Lee is also listed on the witness list due to issues related to GPS in emergency rescue information, in-app payments, and tax-related matters. At the broadcast, media, and communications committee’s National Audit scheduled for next month on the 12th, officials at the division chief level from the committee and representatives from the lead company of the sale will appear as witnesses regarding the process of YTN share disposal recently announced by the Board of Audit and Inspection.
in TECH
