FSS Summons Big Tech Electronic Financial CIOs: "Urges System Failure Prevention and Consumer Protection"

CIOs Convene Amid Series of System Failures
Calls for Strengthened IT Stability and Internal Controls

Financial authorities have summoned big tech-affiliated electronic financial service providers to urge them to prevent system failures and strengthen financial consumer protection. This action follows a series of recent IT system outages at big tech subsidiaries, which have heightened market concerns over the stability of electronic financial transactions.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on June 24, Lee Jong-o, Deputy Governor for Digital and IT at the FSS, held a meeting on the same day at the FSS headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, with the Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and audit officers of six big tech electronic financial firms. He called for strengthening IT stability and reviewing personal information management systems. The FSS noted that while big tech affiliates have so far focused on innovation and growth, they must now establish IT stability and internal control systems appropriate for their scale of growth.

The companies attending the meeting included Naver Financial, Kakao, Kakao Pay, Kakao Mobility, Viva Republica, and Toss Payments.

Deputy Governor Lee stated, "Because big tech services are closely connected to everyday life, thorough prevention is essential to ensure that large-scale inconveniences and economic damages do not arise from system failures," adding, "In external connection environments such as one-app-based services and cloud systems, incidents can easily spread, so IT stability above that of traditional financial institutions must be ensured."

He also called for a comprehensive re-examination and improvement of internal controls and personal information management systems to prevent data leaks, the establishment of reasonable compensation schemes in the event of system failures, and the clarification of compensation standards for merchants and other sellers.

Industry representatives announced the current status and future plans for improving IT internal controls to prevent recurrence of incidents. Specifically, they pledged to: ▲ establish internal control systems and conduct voluntary audit activities commensurate with IT risks; ▲ conduct prior impact analyses, sufficient testing, and third-party verification when making program changes; and ▲ expand real-time monitoring of IT systems to detect abnormal signs at an early stage.

An FSS official stated, "For electronic financial service providers with frequent system errors, we will encourage fundamental improvements through on-site inspections and other measures," adding, "We will take strict action on major IT incidents such as system failures or data leaks that result from basic deficiencies in internal controls."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.