LG Uplus's decision to dispose of a server and reinstall its operating system following a hacking incident has been described as an attempt to cover up the breach. If police investigations reveal intentional wrongdoing, it has been argued that the company should waive penalties for all subscribers.
On October 6, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, Cho Kyung-tae, reported that LG Uplus received a hacking alert from the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) on July 19, 2025, and subsequently disposed of one compromised server on July 31. After the Ministry of Science and ICT requested a self-inspection on August 11, the company reinstalled the server's operating system the following day and reported on August 13 that there were 'no traces of the breach.'
The affected server, known as APPM, manages passwords for internal server accounts. Although a joint investigation found that the leaked data was valid, the disposal of the server and the OS reinstallation prevented the identification of the breach's source and extent. The Ministry of Science and ICT deemed this an intentional cover-up and referred the case to police for investigation on December 9, 2025. The Personal Information Protection Commission also decided to refer the case for investigation on July 30, 2026.
Cho cited Article 38 of LG Uplus's terms of service, which states that penalties can be waived if the termination is due to the company's fault.
He stated, 'We must not set a precedent where destroying evidence allows one to escape accountability. If police investigations reveal intentional cover-up, appropriate measures, including waiving penalties for all subscribers, must be taken.'
Additionally, Cho raised concerns about LG Uplus's practice of embedding subscriber phone numbers directly into the subscriber identification number (IMSI) for about 15 years. The IMSI is a unique 15-digit number assigned by mobile carriers to identify subscribers, often referred to as a 'communication resident registration number.'
According to Cho, LG Uplus has been appending subscriber phone numbers to the operator code since 2011. This structure allows for the phone number to be deduced from the IMSI and vice versa. In April, an anonymous white-hat hacker demonstrated the ability to identify phone numbers of nearby LG Uplus devices using custom equipment and even successfully made calls, sharing the video on GitHub.
During the National Assembly audit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyung-hoon responded to Cho's inquiry about whether penalties should be waived if the cover-up is confirmed, stating, 'If intentional destruction of evidence and obstruction of various investigations are revealed, then it is only natural to request a waiver of penalties. The government will actively ensure that penalties are waived in cases of significant service disruptions or violations of key contractual obligations.'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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