As of May, the number of usable members at Lotte Card was reported at 8.38 million, down approximately 210,000 from 8.59 million in August 2025, when the data breach occurred.
The count of usable members refers to those who can actively use their cards, excluding dormant members (inactive for over a year) and those whose accounts are suspended.
Among the eight major credit card companies, Lotte Card and Hana Card were the only ones to experience a decrease in usable members during this period, with Hana Card losing about 24,000 members.
The significant drop in Lotte Card's membership is attributed to consumer anxiety stemming from the data breach. In August 2025, a hacking incident compromised the information of 2.97 million customers, roughly one-third of its total clientele. Following the breach, membership plummeted to 8.2 million in September 2025, but has since stabilized in the 8.3 million range for the past eight months.
In an effort to regain customer trust, Lotte Card announced plans to invest 120 billion won in information security over five years and increase the proportion of its IT budget allocated to security measures to 15%. However, the company still faces the possibility of sanctions from financial authorities due to the hacking incident.
In late April, the Financial Supervisory Service's sanctions committee proposed a 4.5-month business suspension and a fine of 5 billion won against Lotte Card, along with a warning for former CEO Jo Jae-jin. This proposal has been forwarded to the Financial Services Commission, which will finalize the sanctions at its regular meeting this month.
If the business suspension is confirmed, it could significantly hinder Lotte Card's ability to attract new members, prolonging the recovery of its membership base. Analysts suggest that increased marketing and promotional costs to secure new members could further strain profitability.
Lotte Card CEO Jeong Sang-ho recently issued an apology, stating, "I sincerely apologize for the concerns caused to our customers due to the data breach. We will make every effort to strengthen security investments and management to regain customer trust."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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