Korea Eximbank draws 283 hacking attempts this year, nearly 8 times 2025 level
In short
Hacking attempts against the state-run Korea Export-Import Bank reached 283 this year through Oct. 5, about 7.9 times the 36 recorded in all of last year, according to data submitted to the National Assembly. The Bank of Korea logged 136 attempts through Oct. 2, about 4.5 times its 2025 total of 30. Both institutions said no personal or credit information was leaked in the recent period, though a separate customer data leak at Shinhan Bank has drawn a regulator inspection and a class-action recruitment effort.
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Hacking attempts targeting the state-run Korea Export-Import Bank reached 283 this year through Oct. 5, about 7.9 times the 36 recorded in all of last year, according to data submitted to the National Assembly. The figures were provided by Rep. Lee Jong-wook of the People Power Party, a member of the assembly’s Finance and Planning Committee, who received them from the bank and the Bank of Korea. Attempts this year have already passed the 197 recorded over the previous five years combined, rising from 18 in 2021 to 30 in 2022, 57 in 2023, 56 in 2024 and 36 last year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
By type, cases of “access from malicious IP addresses and similar” jumped from 19 last year to 230 this year, accounting for 81.3% of the total, while web access attempts rose from 17 to 53. Overseas origin accounted for 272 of the attempts, or 96.1%, with the United States the most frequent at 128, followed by Singapore at 56, China at 18, the Netherlands at 12 and Germany and Hong Kong at 10 each. Domestic origin accounted for 11 cases. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
At the Bank of Korea, one unauthorised access attempt targeting its website from the Netherlands was detected last month. Added to the 135 attempts already disclosed for January to August, that brings the total this year to 136 as of Oct. 2, about 4.5 times last year’s 30, according to data the central bank submitted. The bank said it recorded 2,063 hacking attempts from 2021 through August this year, mostly against systems on its internet network, including its main homepage, economic statistics site and electronic library. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The Export-Import Bank said it has had no hacking damage, including leaks of personal or credit information, over the past six years, and that it runs a round-the-clock cybersecurity control centre and shares information with the Finance Ministry’s cyber safety centre. The Bank of Korea said no attempts succeeded and no service disruption, data loss or leak of personal or financial information occurred between last month and Oct. 2. The documents note earlier incidents: a December 2023 distributed denial-of-service attack that caused intermittent delays on the central bank’s website, and an external intrusion into a system used by the contractor handling personal data for its online training programme in May and June this year, which leaked information on 186 employees. [ 1 , 2 ]
Rep. Lee said cyberattacks on the central bank and a state policy bank have risen sharply as hacking incidents in the financial sector continue, and called for a full review of security systems and stronger responses so that attempts do not turn into harm to the public. [ 1 ]
The reports on the two institutions appeared alongside coverage of a separate data leak at Shinhan Bank. One business outlet said about 25,000 customers’ information was exposed, that the Financial Supervisory Service began an on-site inspection and that the regulator has issued 17 security advisories to the financial sector. A second outlet reported that a law firm in Seocho-gu, Seoul, began recruiting plaintiffs for a damages class action on behalf of affected Shinhan Bank customers, with claims expected to be set at 100,000 to 300,000 won per person. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The figures put attempted cyber intrusions at two of South Korea’s most important financial institutions, one a central bank and the other a policy lender, under parliamentary scrutiny. Both institutions say no recent attempt succeeded, but the reports land amid a separate customer data leak at a commercial bank, an inspection by the Financial Supervisory Service and warnings circulated to the financial sector.
Key facts
- Hacking attempts on the Korea Export-Import Bank totalled 283 this year through Oct. 5, about 7.9 times the 36 recorded in all of last year. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Overseas sources accounted for 272 of the 283 attempts, or 96.1%, with the United States the most frequent origin at 128 cases. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The Bank of Korea recorded 136 hacking attempts this year through Oct. 2, about 4.5 times last year’s 30. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The Export-Import Bank said it has had no hacking damage, including personal or credit information leaks, over the past six years. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The Bank of Korea said no intrusion succeeded and no service disruption, data leak or personal or financial information leak occurred from last month to Oct. 2. [ 1 ]
- In May and June this year, an external intrusion into a system used by the Bank of Korea’s online training personal-information contractor leaked the personal data of 186 central bank employees. [ 1 ]
- The data was submitted to the National Assembly by Rep. Lee Jong-wook of the People Power Party, a member of the Finance and Planning Committee. [ 1 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Korea Export-Import Bank faced 283 hacking attempts this year through Oct. 5, roughly 7.9 times last year’s 36. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Most attempts on the Export-Import Bank originated overseas: 272 of 283, or 96.1%. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The Bank of Korea recorded 136 hacking attempts this year through Oct. 2, about 4.5 times last year’s 30. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- No hacking damage or information leak was confirmed at the Export-Import Bank. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The data came from a National Assembly lawmaker’s request to the two institutions. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Who was behind the hacking attempts and what they sought. The documents report origin countries but give no attribution of the actors or their motives.
- Whether the attempts are connected to a recent financial-sector AI agent hacking incident. Yonhap says the cases are not directly related, and no other outlet addresses the link.
- The Shinhan Bank customer data leak, the number of people affected and the regulator’s response. These appear only in one business outlet’s account, which cites about 25,000 customers, an on-site inspection and 17 security advisories; a second outlet mentions only a class-action recruitment effort.
- The size and prospects of the class action over the Shinhan Bank leak. A single summary reports a Seoul law firm recruiting plaintiffs at 100,000 to 300,000 won per person, with no confirmation from the bank or a court.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap publishes the detailed parliamentary data on hacking attempts at the Export-Import Bank and the Bank of Korea. [ 1 ]
- Maeil Business reports the 283 attempts on the Export-Import Bank and the Bank of Korea’s 136, alongside an account of the Shinhan Bank data leak and a regulator inspection. [ 2 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reports the same figures and adds that a Seoul law firm has begun recruiting plaintiffs for a class action over the Shinhan Bank leak. [ 3 ]