South Korea's financial authorities have launched an urgent review in connection with a recent string of hacking incidents in the financial sector, including at Bithumb. Authorities are also seeking ways to strengthen security measures for digital asset operators to the level required of major financial companies such as banks.

The Financial Services Commission on Tuesday held an urgent review meeting on security breach incidents in the digital asset industry, chaired by Yoo Young-joon (유영준), director general for digital finance policy. The meeting was attended by the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Financial Security Institute, the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) and Bithumb, among others.

Bithumb reported to authorities that it had confirmed signs that information on employees at Bithumb, its subsidiaries and partner companies was leaked through abnormal external access.

Whether user information was included is still being checked. The breach occurred in an employee support system, not in core computing facilities related to digital asset trading.

So far, there have been no confirmed signs that information that could be used for fraudulent payments or digital asset transfers, such as digital asset wallet addresses, was leaked.

The FSC, the FSS and the Korea Financial Security Institute immediately began on-site inspections. They plan to share information among relevant agencies to identify the cause and also check whether any consumer damage occurred.

If actual 피해 is confirmed, they plan to manage and supervise the process so that consumer protection measures, including full compensation, can be carried out.

With hacking incidents recently spreading to the financial investment industry and the digital asset sector, authorities are also reviewing tougher security regulations.

The FSC plans to pursue measures to strengthen security requirements to the level of major financial companies such as banks for digital asset operators not subject to the current Electronic Financial Transactions Act. It also plans to set up a system for a swift response when security breaches occur.

Authorities will continue investigations into second-tier financial companies, including Mirae Asset Life Insurance and Mirae Asset Management, which recently reported incidents, and Daishin Securities, where additional customer information leaks were confirmed during the investigation process.

Financial authorities plan to closely investigate the causes and scope of damage through the FSS and the Korea Financial Security Institute and also review measures to protect victims.