South Korea

Joongang Ilbo | English | News | Dec. 5, 2025 | Cyber Attacks and Data Loss

Gmarket CEO James Chang acknowledged a recent cybersecurity incident involving suspected unauthorized use of customer information on the e-commerce platform. The company identified the issue on a Saturday, linking it to identity theft through credential stuffing, where stolen personal data from outside sources was used to access user accounts and make unauthorized purchases of mobile gift certificates. Gmarket conducted an internal review, which found no evidence of external hacking, and took immediate action by blocking related IP addresses and tightening security measures the same day.

The incident coincided with a separate suspected hacking case at another company, prompting Gmarket to proactively report the matter to South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), which launched an emergency on-site inspection. The occurrence happened on the same day that Coupang disclosed a significant data breach affecting 33.7 million user accounts. Gmarket has compensated all affected customers and committed to enhancing cybersecurity awareness and protections to foster a safer environment for personal data management.

Joongang Ilbo | English | News | Dec. 5, 2025 | North Korea

South Korea's deputy foreign minister, Chung Eui-hae, called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to support Seoul's efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea. This appeal was made during a luncheon with ambassadors from 11 Asean member states, including Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Chung expressed gratitude for Asean's backing of President Lee Jae Myung's "END" initiative, which stands for exchange, normalization, and denuclearization. The initiative aims to end hostility and promote peace with North Korea and was highlighted by Lee during his United Nations General Assembly address in September 2025.

Additionally, Chung emphasized South Korea's intention to strengthen its comprehensive strategic partnership with Asean by increasing people-to-people exchanges and enhancing cooperation in trade and security.

Yonhap | English | News | Dec. 5, 2025 | North Korea

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun emphasized the importance of pursuing diplomacy with North Korea alongside the joint deterrence efforts of Seoul and Washington. Speaking via video at a Washington forum on December 3, 2025, Cho referred to a recent South Korea-U.S. joint fact sheet on security and trade agreements, highlighting it as a step toward a future-oriented, comprehensive strategic alliance. The fact sheet outlines deterrence measures, including U.S. support for South Korea’s acquisition of nuclear-powered, conventionally-armed submarines and Seoul's commitment to raising defense spending to 3.5 percent of its GDP.

Cho stressed that deterrence must be accompanied by diplomacy to prevent accidental conflicts, ease tensions, and restore dialogue with North Korea. Both Seoul and Washington remain open to dialogue with Pyongyang, though North Korea's increased dependency on Russia complicates prospects for engagement. The minister underscored the alliance’s “ironclad” nature as central to regional peace and stability, and highlighted South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s pragmatic and principled diplomatic stance.

The foreign minister also emphasized the need for trilateral cooperation with Japan as essential to managing regional challenges, citing Russia’s closer ties with North Korea, China’s rising influence, and Japan’s evolving strategic position. Despite recent tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan, Cho committed to advancing cooperation with both countries through trilateral frameworks.

In addition to security cooperation, Cho pointed to the modernization of the South Korea-U.S. alliance through a recent bilateral trade and investment agreement. This agreement aims to enhance industrial cooperation in areas like shipbuilding, energy, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies. Further, U.S. support for South Korea’s peaceful pursuit of uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, along with backing for nuclear-powered submarines, will boost their shared capabilities in next-generation energy, defense, and shipbuilding. Cho framed these initiatives as essential to adapting the alliance to a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape after more than seventy years of partnership.