Financial regulator calls on credit card firms to better protect customer data
Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon, second from left, speaks at a meeting of CEOs of the financial institutions specializing in loans in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
The chief of the country's financial regulator Thursday urged credit card firms to redouble efforts to protect customer data, citing a recent data breach case.
In a meeting with heads of credit card firms and credit finance companies, Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said his agency will sternly punish any negligence in consumer protection.
His remarks came as Lotte Card, the country's fifth-largest card issuer, in September revealed personal data of some 3 million customers had been leaked in a hacking incident.
The FSC earlier warned that it would take stern measures against any rule violations by Lotte Card, vowing to impose the highest-ever penalty on the card issuer should there be any serious violation.
Lee said the data breach case shed light on card firms' complacency in consumer protection.
"Card firms have been lax in protecting consumers while focusing on cost savings and others," Lee said.
The chief regulator also stressed that card firms need to cut commission rates for small merchants and low-rated consumers.