Woori Financial Group filed a revised securities registration statement on '6일', one business day after its previous submission, to voluntarily disclose a customer data breach at its wholly owned subsidiary Woori Bank as an investment risk. The breach involved 17,551 customer records improperly stored by an external developer working on Woori Bank's NFT platform project. The proactive disclosure aims to prevent additional correction requests from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) ahead of a planned stock exchange with Dongyang Life Insurance, with a board meeting and shareholder vote scheduled for '24일'. Though the breach is unrelated to Dongyang Life, Woori Financial assessed that potential administrative sanctions, litigation costs, and reputational damage could negatively impact the group's financial position and share price. The filing is part of Woori Financial's effort to complete the remaining stock exchange procedures by August as originally planned.
Woori Bank NFT Platform Breach Exposes 17,551 Customer Records
An external developer contracted for Woori Bank's non-fungible token (NFT) platform construction project arbitrarily retained and subsequently leaked 17,551 customer personal information records. Woori Bank immediately blocked access to the compromised data upon discovering the incident, reported the breach to the Personal Information Protection Commission, and posted a public notice on its website. The bank sent an apology letter under the bank president's name to affected customers and pledged prompt compensation if damages occur. According to the bank, no confirmed cases of the leaked information being disseminated online or offline, or being misused, have been identified to date.
Woori Financial determined that depending on the outcome of investigations by relevant authorities, Woori Bank may face administrative sanctions, damage compensation claims, lawsuits, and additional costs from expanded information security investments. The group warned investors that resulting reputational decline and customer attrition could adversely affect its financial condition, as Woori Bank's operating performance and financial structure are fully consolidated into Woori Financial's financial statements as the 100% parent company.
Woori Financial Submits Voluntary Filing Revision Ahead of FSS Review
Woori Financial's '6일' filing marked the second revision within one business day, following a '3일' submission that incorporated FSS-requested amendments and first-quarter report content. The latest revision was not mandated by the FSS but voluntarily added by Woori Financial to include the data breach as a newly identified investment risk factor. A Woori Financial representative stated the company became aware of the Woori Bank customer information leak after submitting the '3일' corrected filing, and judged it necessary to inform investors of a matter potentially affecting Woori Financial's stock, prompting the additional '6일' correction.
The FSS had previously issued a correction order on May 26 for Woori Financial's initial securities filing, requesting supplementary explanations on directors' fiduciary duties to shareholders per Ministry of Justice guidelines and measures to address concerns from Dongyang Life minority shareholders dissatisfied with the stock exchange ratio. In response, Woori Financial and Dongyang Life held an additional shareholder meeting last month and on '3일' raised the buyback price for dissenting Dongyang Life shareholders by 10% above the original offer, submitting the corrected filing approximately one month after the correction order.
FSS Review Timeline and Scheduled Board Meeting
Under current regulations, the FSS has up to seven business days to review the filing and determine approval. If another correction order is issued, Woori Financial and Dongyang Life would need to postpone the board meeting and shareholder vote and resubmit amended documents. Such a delay would cascade through the remaining schedule of stock exchange, delisting, and share listing procedures, jeopardizing the originally planned August completion. With approximately two weeks remaining until the shareholder vote, submitting the filing by the 13th at the latest would allow the FSS to decide on effectiveness before '24일'.
An FSS official stated that if the company receives additional correction requests and the filing does not take effect before the scheduled shareholder meeting date, the meeting date must be changed, and that the FSS will proceed with reviewing Woori Financial's submitted filing to determine approval. The comprehensive stock exchange process aims to convert Dongyang Life into a wholly owned subsidiary of Woori Financial, with the '24일' Woori Financial board meeting (substituting for a shareholder meeting) and Dongyang Life shareholder meeting representing critical milestones in the transaction timeline.
FAQ
What customer information was leaked in the Woori Bank data breach?
An external developer working on Woori Bank's NFT platform project arbitrarily retained and leaked 17,551 customer personal information records. Woori Bank blocked access to the compromised data immediately upon discovery, reported the incident to the Personal Information Protection Commission, and posted a public notice. The bank has stated no confirmed cases of the leaked information being disseminated or misused have been identified to date.
Why did Woori Financial voluntarily revise its securities filing on '6일'?
Woori Financial voluntarily added disclosure of the Woori Bank customer data breach as an investment risk factor in its '6일' filing revision, submitted one business day after the previous '3일' correction. The company judged that potential administrative sanctions, litigation costs, and reputational damage from the breach could negatively impact Woori Financial's stock and financial condition, making proactive disclosure necessary to avoid additional FSS correction requests before the planned '24일' board meeting and shareholder vote for the Dongyang Life stock exchange.
