Amidst reports of ongoing hacking attempts targeting South Korean government agencies, it has been revealed that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its affiliated organizations are essentially in a “defenseless state” regarding their cybersecurity measures. Key projects aimed at countering hacking efforts have not secured any budget, leaving them exposed to over 3,000 attacks annually due to a shortage of dedicated personnel.
According to data released by Rep. Park Soo-hyun (Democratic Party, representing Gongju, Buyeo, Cheongyang), a member of the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, five of the Ministry’s eleven hacking countermeasure projects have not received any government budget from 2024 to 2026. These projects, with a total estimated cost of 2.19 billion won by 2026, include the establishment of a hacking email quarantine system, DNS security enhancement, a cyber safety education system setup, business-sharing system improvements, and safety diagnostics for IT disaster preparedness.
Additionally, although some funding has been secured for the project to replace outdated security surveillance equipment, only about half of the required 1.26 billion won has been allocated. As a result, only five of the Ministry’s eleven hacking response projects have received full budget support.
The Cyber Safety Center at the Ministry oversees the information security of not only the Ministry’s headquarters but also 118 affiliated institutions. Due to budget gaps, these institutions remain vulnerable to cyber attacks. In fact, from 2021 to July this year, there have been 18,624 cyberattacks targeting the Ministry and its affiliates, with incidents of server shutdowns and personal data leaks recurrently occurring.
The shortage of personnel for hacking response is also critical. The Ministry and its affiliates currently have only 15 dedicated hacking response personnel, while an additional 26 are needed, leading to a personnel fulfillment rate of only 36.5%. Moreover, 14 out of 18 institutions lack even a single dedicated staff member. For instance, the National Library of Korea experienced a DDoS attack last year, resulting in a server outage, and the National Gugak Center suffered 360 cyberattacks over the past five years without securing specialized personnel.
Rep. Park stressed the urgency of the situation, remarking that despite increasing public anxiety over recent telecom hacks and personal data breaches, the Ministry lags behind in securing both budget and manpower. He emphasized the necessity of fundamentally strengthening the security framework to counter the more than 3,000 hacking attacks each year.