South Korean President Calls for Government-Level Cybersecurity Agency to Address Security Incidents Including Binance Hack

November 3: According to Reuters, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called on November 3 for a strong government-level cybersecurity agency to coordinate security functions scattered across various institutions, noting limitations in the current ability to protect critical systems. At a cabinet meeting, Lee said the existing security system centered on inspections and post-incident response has shown clear limitations, and called for a comprehensive preventive system to protect public services and critical infrastructure.

Lee also mentioned the multi-billion-dollar theft affecting Binance, but did not directly name North Korea. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation previously attributed the attack to North Korea, and North Korea denied involvement on Tuesday. Lee said there is also a need to discuss establishing a government-level working group spanning the public and private sectors, and asked for active consideration of forming a strong cybersecurity "czar" agency to oversee and coordinate currently fragmented security functions. Yonhap reported that South Korea's National Intelligence Service has launched an emergency security inspection covering more than 2,100 central government ministries, local governments, and public institutions.