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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] South Korean online bookstore YES24 is under fire for its handling of a ransomware attack that has left its services down for five consecutive days. The controversy has intensified following news that a major shareholder from the founding family gifted company shares to a family member during the ongoing crisis.
According to a regulatory filing disclosed on June 13 via the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, Kim Dong-nyung, Chairman of Hansae YES24 Holdings—the parent company of YES24—gifted 2 million shares (equivalent to a 5% stake) to his eldest daughter, Kim Ji-won, CEO of Hansae MK. Based on the closing price at the time, the gift was valued at approximately KRW 8.15 billion (around USD 5.9 million).
Following the transaction, Chairman Kim’s stake decreased from 16.99% to 11.99%, while Kim Ji-won’s share rose from 5.19% to 10.19%. With this transfer, Kim’s three children now collectively own more than half of Hansae YES24 Holdings: Kim Seok-hwan, CEO of the holding company, holds 25.95%; Kim Ik-hwan, Vice Chairman of Hansae Co., Ltd., owns 20.76%; and Kim Ji-won holds 10.19%—bringing the total to 56.9%.
Public backlash has grown over the timing of the stock transfer, which took place while YES24 customers continue to face service disruptions and rising concerns over potential data breaches.
YES24 has also come under scrutiny for its delayed and inadequate response to the cyberattack. On June 9, the company initially described the outage as a “system maintenance issue,” failing to disclose the ransomware attack. It was only after a lawmaker’s office revealed that YES24 had reported a hacking incident to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) that the company admitted to being hit by ransomware.
On June 11, YES24 stated it was working with KISA for technical support—but the agency later denied this claim, sparking further controversy over the company’s transparency.
YES24 has previously faced penalties in 2016 and 2020 for violations of personal information protection laws.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
