KT micro-payment suspect claims orders from China

A suspect in the “KT micro-payment” case told authorities that he had received instructions from Chinese superiors to “go to areas with many apartments.” Police are investigating whether a larger organization was involved behind the scenes.

According to the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency on Sept. 22, Jang, 48, a Chinese national accused of carrying illegal femtocell base stations in a van to steal KT subscriber information across the Seoul metropolitan area, said he was ordered by his Chinese superiors to “go to densely populated areas” and that he joined the scheme for 5 million won due to financial difficulties. Police are tracing Jang’s movements to verify his statements. Investigators have also confirmed that the impact spread to Gwangmyeong, Bucheon, and Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province; Geumcheon, Yeongdeungpo, Seocho, and Dongjak districts in Seoul; Bupyeong in Incheon; and Ilsan in Goyang, Gyeonggi. Interpol is expected to be asked to issue a red notice to capture the ringleaders.

Meanwhile, attention is growing on whether the micro-payment case is linked to hacking after backup data from servers previously discarded by KT was confirmed. Earlier, on Sept. 8, U.S. cybersecurity publication "Prack" reported that KT and government agency systems had been hacked. At the time, KT reported to the Ministry of Science and ICT that its internal investigation found no signs of intrusion and prematurely discarded servers in Gunpo, Gyeonggi, and Guro District, Seoul, raising suspicions of a cover-up.

On Sept. 22, Park Chung-kwon, a member of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee from the People Power Party, said KT confirmed that the log records from the discarded servers had been backed up and that the data was submitted to the joint public-private investigation team on Sept. 18. This is expected to allow investigators to verify not only whether the discarded servers were hacked but also any connection to the unauthorized micro-payment incidents. Some observers have raised suspicions of a link between the two cases, noting that micro-payment damages were concentrated in areas where the discarded servers had been located.


수원=이경진 기자 lkj@donga.com