Tasked with Protecting National Security, They Were Caught Playing "StarCraft"... Five Taxpayer-Funded Employees' Shocking Misconduct

Accessed game server while supervisor was away
Hwang Jeonga: "A serious lapse in discipline... strict accountability"

Employees of the National Security Research Institute, which is responsible for national cybersecurity, were disciplined after being caught playing "StarCraft" during working hours.

According to data provided by the National Security Research Institute, an affiliate of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, to Hwang Jeonga, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker on the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, five employees of the institute's Cybersecurity Training Center were disciplined after an investigation found that they had logged on to the "Battle.net" StarCraft game server for more than 90 hours in total during working hours in 2024.

StarCraft game screen

From September to December 2024, they repeatedly logged on to the game server using work PCs and other devices while their manager was away on leave or a business trip. They took advantage of the fact that the Cybersecurity Training Center is in a separate building from the institute's headquarters in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, and that access to game servers was not blocked when using an external network line for training.

One employee logged on for as long as 8 hours and 53 minutes in a single day, while another logged on for up to 7 hours and 21 minutes. Some employees also appeared to have accessed the game through the internal local network even after the internet connection was blocked.

Hwang Jeonga, a lawmaker with the Democratic Party of Korea. Office of Rep. Hwang Jeonga.

They said they logged on to the game after someone suggested unwinding following a major event, but stated that they had not actually played the game for the entire time they were connected to the server.

Following a disciplinary committee review, the institute issued reprimands to all five employees. It deducted personal paid annual leave or salary in proportion to the time they had been connected to the game server.

The institute acknowledged shortcomings in its oversight and has consolidated its training network lines under a centralized management system to monitor usage records and block access to non-work-related websites, including gaming sites. It has also conducted two security training sessions for all employees and related training at the center, and required regular reviews of the operation of its external training network.

Rep. Hwang Jeonga said, "It is a serious lapse in discipline for employees responsible for protecting the nation's cybersecurity to repeatedly access game servers when their manager was away. We must ensure thorough management of employee conduct and hold those responsible strictly accountable, while also reviewing safeguards to protect internal whistleblowers from retaliation."

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