A suspect in the recent KT hacking incident is being taken into custody by two police officers in this photo released Wednesday by the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency. (Yonhap)
A suspect in the recent KT hacking incident is being taken into custody by two police officers in this photo released Wednesday by the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency. (Yonhap)

South Korean police apprehended two Chinese nationals in connection with a recent hacking scheme that used “fake base stations” to defraud KT subscribers, with total identified losses amounting to 126 million won ($92,000), officials said Wednesday.

The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said that a 48-year-old suspect was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Seoul on charges of violating the Information and Communications Network Act and computer fraud.

This follows the capture a day earlier at Incheon Airport of a 44-year-old Chinese national.

Investigators allege that the suspects carried a portable fake base station in a van around Seoul and its surrounding cities to intercept mobile phone signals between late August and early September. They are suspected of having hacked KT users’ devices and carried out unauthorized small payments, including purchasing mobile gift certificates and recharging transportation cards, which were then converted into cash.

It was the first such system breach reported in South Korea. Authorities have confirmed 199 cases of fraudulent transactions, with damages amounting to 126 million won.

Police said they are continuing to investigate to determine the full extent of the operation.


khnews@heraldcorp.com