Court hacking attempts hit 239,145 in Jan–Aug, 1.7 times full-year 2025
Version 2: A third outlet added specifics on the earlier breach, attributing it to North Korean hacker groups and citing 1,014GB of leaked data, and reported a lawmaker's criticism that the court administration left its security equipment budget entirely unspent.
In short
The South Korean court network's security system detected 239,145 hacking attempts from January to August this year, 1.7 times the 141,528 recorded in all of 2025 and about 2.4 times the same period last year, according to National Court Administration data submitted to the National Assembly. Attempts peaked at 48,263 in March and topped 20,000 every month except January. The reports also covered the court's audit of an earlier breach that leaked data on roughly 18,000 people, which ended in a departmental caution and strict warnings, and a lawmaker's claim that the court administration left its security equipment budget unspent.
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Hacking attempts targeting South Korea's court network reached 239,145 in the first eight months of this year, exceeding the whole of last year, according to National Court Administration data. Yonhap and Maeil Business reported that the figure — detected by the courts' Security Information and Event Management system — is 1.7 times the 141,528 attempts recorded in all of last year and about 2.4 times the 101,205 logged in the same period a year earlier. [ 1 , 3 ]
Monthly attempts peaked at 48,263 in March, followed by 39,915 in May, 34,083 in June and 30,576 in August, the two outlets reported. They said monthly counts had mostly stayed below 20,000 in past years, but every month this year except January topped 20,000. Annual attempts were 142,514 in 2021, 126,212 in 2022, 114,070 in 2023 and 98,171 in 2024 — around 100,000 a year — before rising again. [ 1 , 3 ]
The court administration submitted the data to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Dong-a, according to both reports. They also reported the outcome of the court's own audit last year into an earlier breach: a departmental caution for the information protection division, no disciplinary action for three officials including the head of the Seoul High Court's IT management bureau, strict warnings for five, and no action possible for two who had retired. [ 1 , 3 ]
The outlets described the earlier breach differently. Yonhap said a hacking incident between June 2021 and January 2023 leaked the personal data of about 18,000 people. Maeil Business said North Korean hacker groups had intruded into the court network from before January 2021 until February 2023 and that 1,014GB of data was leaked, including information on 17,998 individuals. [ 1 , 3 ]
Kim Dong-a said the court administration had left its entire budget for introducing security equipment unspent through delayed administration, despite the surge in hacking attempts, Maeil Business reported. [ 3 ]
Neither report attributed the recent attempts to any actor or explained whether the increase reflects more attacks or improved detection. [ 1 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The figures point to a sustained rise in attempts against the judiciary's computer systems, which hold case records and personal data; an earlier intrusion at the courts already exposed data on thousands of people. The documents also show that the court's own audit of that incident ended with warnings rather than stronger measures, and a lawmaker's claim that security equipment funding went unused, which is the accountability question the data submission to parliament raises.
Key facts
- The court network's Security Information and Event Management system detected 239,145 hacking attempts from January to August this year. [ 1 , 3 ]
- That is 1.7 times the 141,528 attempts recorded in all of 2025 and about 2.4 times the 101,205 recorded in the same period last year. [ 1 , 3 ]
- March had the most attempts at 48,263, followed by May with 39,915, June with 34,083 and August with 30,576. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Past monthly counts were mostly below 20,000, but every month this year except January exceeded 20,000. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Annual attempts were 142,514 in 2021, 126,212 in 2022, 114,070 in 2023 and 98,171 in 2024, before rising again this year. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The National Court Administration submitted the data to the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Dong-a. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The court's own audit last year into an earlier breach ended with a departmental caution and strict warnings for five officials, with no action against three and none possible for two who had retired. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Lawmaker Kim Dong-a said the court administration left its entire security equipment budget unspent through delayed administration. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The court network's Security Information and Event Management system detected 239,145 hacking attempts from January to August this year. [ 1 , 3 ]
- That is 1.7 times the 141,528 attempts recorded in all of last year and about 2.4 times the 101,205 recorded in the same period a year earlier. [ 1 , 3 ]
- March had the most attempts at 48,263, followed by May with 39,915, June with 34,083 and August with 30,576. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The National Court Administration submitted the data to the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Dong-a. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The court's own audit last year into an earlier breach resulted in a departmental caution and strict warnings for five officials, with no action against three and none possible for two who had retired. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Annual attempted intrusions were 142,514 in 2021, 126,212 in 2022, 114,070 in 2023 and 98,171 in 2024. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Who or what is behind the attempts, and whether the increase reflects more attacks or better detection. Both outlets report detection counts only and give no attribution or explanation for the rise.
- The dates and scale of the earlier breach that leaked personal data. Yonhap dates it from June 2021 to January 2023 with about 18,000 people affected; Maeil Business dates it from before January 2021 to February 2023 with 1,014GB leaked and 17,998 individuals affected. The two accounts do not match.
- The date the court administration submitted the data to the National Assembly. Yonhap refers to the submission on the 5th while Maeil Business says the 4th, and both reports were published on the 4th.
- Whether the court administration left its security equipment budget entirely unspent. This is reported only by Maeil Business as a claim by lawmaker Kim Dong-a, with no response from the court administration in the documents.
- How Newsis developed the court hacking figures beyond its headline. The article text available for Newsis concerned unrelated remarks by President Lee Jae-myung.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap publishes the National Court Administration data showing 239,145 hacking attempts against the court network from January to August. [ 1 ]
- Newsis publishes a headline reporting the same attempt count as 1.7 times last year's figure. [ 2 ]
- Maeil Business publishes the figures together with details of the earlier breach and lawmaker Kim Dong-a's criticism of unspent security funding. [ 3 ]