Overview

• The Personal Information Protection Commission launched a formal investigation into KT and LG Uplus over potential personal-data leaks tied to the reports.
• The government said KT users have reported 278 unauthorized mobile payments totaling about 170 million won as of Wednesday.
• A joint public–private team found an illegal, unregistered micro base station had connected to KT’s network and is examining how transactions occurred and what data, if any, was exposed.
• Authorities asked SK Telecom and LG Uplus to inspect their networks, and the science ministry said no illegal base stations were found at the two carriers.
• KT said it has blocked unusual payment requests since Friday, and officials cautioned it is too early to determine attribution, including any North Korea link.