LG Uplus, one of South Korea’s largest telecommunications providers, has confirmed to TechCrunch that it has reported a suspected data breach to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), the country’s national cybersecurity watchdog. The company did not disclose when the results of the ongoing investigation would be made public. The disclosure makes LG Uplus the third major South Korean telecom operator, after SK Telecom and KT Telecom, to report a cybersecurity incident in the past six months—raising alarm over the increasing frequency of attacks targeting the country’s telecom sector.
According to South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, investigations into both KT and LG Uplus are still underway. The ministry confirmed that the probe, launched last month, aims to determine whether the companies were targeted by cyberattacks similar to the one that recently affected SK Telecom. Officials have yet to provide details on the scope or source of the suspected breaches.
The issue traces back to July, when KISA reportedly detected potential signs of a compromise and requested LG Uplus to submit a formal incident report. However, in August, LG’s telecom arm denied evidence of a breach, even as KT disclosed data exposure linked to unauthorized micro base stations connecting to its network. KISA has so far declined to comment on the ongoing situation.
The renewed scrutiny follows a report by hacking magazine Phrack, which claimed that hackers—allegedly from China or North Korea—had stolen data from nearly 9,000 LG Uplus servers. While these claims remain unverified, they have intensified concerns about the resilience of South Korea’s digital infrastructure.
This latest development comes amid a wave of high-profile cyber incidents in the country affecting telecom operators, credit card companies, technology startups, and government institutions. Experts have repeatedly warned that South Korea’s fragmented cybersecurity framework and shortage of skilled professionals are hampering its ability to respond effectively to such sophisticated threats.
As the investigation unfolds, the LG Uplus breach underscores the growing need for stronger coordination, threat intelligence sharing, and proactive cyber defense measures across South Korea’s critical communications networks.
