In the wake of hacking incidents affecting both micropayments and servers, KT (CEO Kim Young-seop) is facing increased mistrust due to repeated changes in its official statements. The National Assembly criticized KT’s inconsistent stance and announced that a thorough investigation would take place during the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee’s hearing scheduled for the 24th. The photo, taken on the 23rd, shows KT’s headquarters in Gwanghwamun, Seoul.
It has been revealed that KT poorly managed the femtocells, tiny base stations misused in illegal micropayment activities. Unlike its competitors, KT lacks an automatic shutdown system for unused equipment, highlighting a critical gap in management.
According to Representative Lee Hae-min of the National Revolutionary Party, among the three major telecommunications companies, KT has distributed the most femtocells but failed to establish basic management systems like automatic shutdown for unused devices or deregistering unique values during significant location changes.
In contrast, SK Telecom and LG Uplus operate management systems that automatically detect and block devices when femtocells remain unused for extended periods or move beyond a certain distance, eventually deleting device identifiers after a set period.
Representative Lee criticized KT for its reliance solely on customer contacts to retrieve femtocells. He pointed out that when customers are unreachable, there are no follow-up actions, making it highly likely that the abandoned equipment was used illegally by hackers.
He further questioned whether KT possesses the fundamental qualifications as a telecommunication service provider. He emphasized the need to verify whether KT is suitable to handle the nation’s key telecom infrastructure projects, urging a thorough investigation into network management deficiencies and the establishment of improvement measures, including human resource reform.