How much are Shinhan, Hana, Woori and KB Kookmin banks budgeting for information security in 2027?

Shinhan Bank plans to allocate 115 billion won and Hana Bank 100.1 billion won. Woori Bank plans 76.3 billion won, while KB Kookmin Bank is considering an allocation above 100 billion won that has not been finalized.

How many customers were affected by the recent data breaches at Shinhan, KB Kookmin and Hana banks?

The article reports that about 25,000 Shinhan Bank customers were affected, while the KB Kookmin Bank breach affected 2,210 customers, up from the bank’s initial estimate of 119. Hana Bank confirmed that personal information belonging to 89 customers had been leaked.

What staffing and oversight concerns remain at Korea’s major banks despite plans to increase cybersecurity budgets?

Dedicated security specialists make up a small share of the banks’ IT workforces: they account for 6 percent at Shinhan and 5.6 percent at Woori, while KB Kookmin had 17 specialists among 1,673 IT employees. All four banks’ CISOs also hold additional positions, and only Woori reported a CISO putting a decision on hold or exercising veto power over security concerns in the past three years.

Banks ramp up cybersecurity budgets for 2027 following hacking spree

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Summary

Major Korean banks are planning to increase information security spending in 2027 following a series of suspected AI-assisted cyberattacks. Shinhan Bank plans to allocate 115 billion won, Hana Bank 100.1 billion won and Woori Bank 76.3 billion won, while KB Kookmin Bank is considering spending more than 100 billion won. The breaches affected about 25,000 Shinhan customers, 2,210 KB Kookmin customers and 89 Hana customers. The article also notes that budget execution, specialist staffing and the authority of security officers remain concerns.

Key Facts

Shinhan Bank’s planned 2027 information security budget is nearly 2.8 times its 40.6 billion won allocation for this year.
The four banks’ information security budget execution rates this year ranged from 60 percent to 87 percent.
KB Kookmin Bank expects to spend 52 billion won of its 86.1 billion won allocation this year, or 60.4 percent.
KB Kookmin Bank had 1,673 IT employees this year, including 17 dedicated security specialists, about 1 percent of its IT workforce.
All four banks’ chief information security officers hold additional positions, and Woori Bank was the only one to report a CISO decision being put on hold or vetoed over security concerns in the past three years.

By Lee Hyo-jin

Published Nov 9, 2026 4:09 pm KST

A person walks past a row of automated teller machines belonging to major commerical banks in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Korea's major banks are sharply increasing their cybersecurity budgets for next year following a series of hacking incidents, with some lenders planning to spend more than 100 billion won ($74 million) on information security, data showed Monday.

According to data submitted by the country's four major banks to Rep. Lee Yang-soo of the main opposition People Power Party, Shinhan Bank plans to allocate 115 billion won to information security in 2027, nearly 2.8 times its budget of 40.6 billion won this year.

Hana Bank has set its budget at 100.1 billion won, while Woori Bank plans to spend 76.3 billion won. KB Kookmin Bank is also considering raising its allocation to more than 100 billion won, although the figure has yet to be finalized.

The planned increases follow a series of suspected artificial intelligence-assisted cyberattacks that have raised concerns across the financial sector.

In October, a data breach at Shinhan Bank exposed the personal information of about 25,000 customers. The number of customers affected by a separate breach at KB Kookmin Bank was 2,210, significantly higher than the bank's initial estimate of 119. Hana Bank also confirmed that personal information belonging to 89 customers had been leaked.

Yet larger budgets do not necessarily translate into stronger cybersecurity defenses.

This year's information security budget execution rates at the four banks ranged from 60 percent to 87 percent.

KB Kookmin expects to spend 52 billion won of its 86.1 billion won allocation this year, or 60.4 percent. Woori expects to spend 87 percent of its 61.6 billion won budget, while Hana has spent 23.9 billion won, or 75.3 percent, of its 31.8 billion won allocation in the first half.

Staffing is another concern as dedicated security specialists account for only a small share of the banks' IT workforces.

KB Kookmin had 1,673 IT employees this year, but only 17 were dedicated security specialists, accounting for about 1 percent of its IT workforce. Security specialists made up 6 percent of IT employees at Shinhan and 5.6 percent at Woori.

The authority of chief information security officers (CISOs), who oversee the company's cybersecurity measures, has also come under scrutiny.

All four banks' CISOs hold additional positions, including chief privacy officer roles. KB Kookmin's CISO holds five positions, including the equivalent role at the bank's New York branch.

Over the past three years, Woori was the only bank to report an instance in which its CISO put a decision on hold or exercised veto power over security concerns.

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