Banks ramp up cybersecurity budgets for 2027 following hacking spree

Korea's major banks are sharply increasing their cybersecurity budgets for next year following a series of hacking incidents, with some lenders planning to spend more than 100 billion won ($74 million) on information security, data showed Monday. According to data submitted by the country's four major banks to Rep. Lee Yang-soo of the main opposition People Power Party, Shinhan Bank plans to allocate 115 billion won to information security in 2027, nearly 2.8 times its budget of 40.6 billion won this year. Hana Bank has set its budget at 100.1 billion won, while Woori Bank plans to spend 76.3 billion won. KB Kookmin Bank is also considering raising its allocation to more than 100 billion won, although the figure has yet to be finalized. The planned increases follow a series of suspected artificial intelligence-assisted cyberattacks that have raised concerns across the financial sector. In October, a data breach at Shinhan Bank exposed the personal information of about 25,000 customers. The number of customers affected by a separate breach at KB Kookmin Bank was 2,210, significantly highe