Mirae Asset faces high-profile lawsuit from ex-Kakao executive

Bae Jae-hyun, former Kakao chief investment officer / Yonhap

Mirae Asset Securities faces a high-profile lawsuit from a former Kakao executive seeking compensation for assets linked to a 2023 cybersecurity incident, which he claims are now valued at 11 billion won ($7.56 million), according to company and legal sources, Monday.

The cyberattack, which occurred between October and November 2023, allegedly siphoned a total of 7.66 billion won — 3.73 billion won in cash and 3.93 billion won in stocks — from a Mirae Asset Securities account belonging to Bae Jae-hyun, former chief investment officer at Kakao.

The incident took place while Bae was detained in connection with the SM Entertainment stock manipulation case.

Other high-profile figures, including BTS member Jungkook and EcoPro Chairman Lee Dong-chae, were reportedly targeted, but their accounts were protected by the brokerage’s monitoring system.

Bae has recovered 6.08 billion won of the stolen assets, leaving 1.58 billion won still unrecovered. He is demanding full compensation for this remaining amount, particularly noting that if he had kept the forcibly sold stocks, their current market value would be 11 billion won.

Mirae Asset has partly acknowledged responsibility for the losses, but it said compensation should be restricted to the unrecovered 1.58 billion won, not the inflated value based on current stock prices.

“The coourt is unlikely to recognize the calculation based on current stock prices as compensable damages,” the company said in a press release, Monday.

Regarding its responsibility for account protection, Mirae Asset emphasized that its three-step verification system, including mobile phone authentication, bank verification and government ID checks, was fully operational at the time.

The brokerage also noted that the stolen funds were transferred to other accounts in Bae’s name at Samsung Securities and Kbank, meaning it should not bear full responsibility for the losses.

Industry sources said the case highlights ongoing concerns about cybersecurity and liability in Korea’s financial sector and could set a precedent for how damages are assessed in incidents involving both cash and stocks.