Seoul:Police have decided to refer a series of hacking incidents at financial institutions to a newly established investigation agency focused on handling major crimes, officials announced Tuesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the National Office of Investigation under the Korean National Police Agency will notify the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA) of suspected violations related to the Electronic Financial Transactions Act and the Information and Communications Network Act.
By law, police are mandated to notify the SCIA immediately upon detecting serious crimes. If initially notified by phone, a written notification must follow within three days. The SCIA then has seven days to decide whether to launch an investigation.
This decision follows a wave of cyberattacks affecting about 16 local financial institutions, including banks, savings banks, and insurance companies. These attacks resulted in approximately 100,000 cases of personal data exposure, involving email addresses, names, and phone numbers.