Hack of Lotte Card affects nearly three million

Lotte Card announced Sept. 18 that personal information of 2.97 million customers was stolen in a hacking incident. The company, which has about 9.6 million members, said the leaked data totaled 200 gigabytes, roughly 100 times the initial estimate. Among those affected, 280,000 customers had their CVC codes, the three digits on the back of their credit cards, exposed, increasing the risk of fraudulent transactions.

At a press conference in Seoul’s Jung District, Lotte Card CEO Cho Jwa-jin apologized, saying, “I sincerely apologize to our customers and the relevant authorities for causing concern. We will take full responsibility and compensate for all damages resulting from this incident.” The leaked information included resident registration numbers and virtual payment codes collected during online transactions. Cho said 28 customers faced a higher risk of fraud because their card numbers, expiration dates, and CVC codes were all compromised.

That same day, President Lee Jae-myung presided over a senior secretaries’ meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, emphasizing the need for systemic government action. “It is necessary to hold companies accountable, but we must also urgently establish a comprehensive government-wide security strategy to counter increasingly sophisticated hacking crimes,” he said.


강우석 wskang@donga.com