TechFlow, on December 8, according to South Korean media Chosun Ilbo, Upbit, South Korea's largest digital asset exchange, delayed reporting a hacking incident to the Financial Supervisory Service for six hours.
Data obtained by National Assembly Financial Services Committee member Kang Min-kuk from the Financial Supervisory Service shows that Upbit detected suspicious transactions at 4:42 a.m. on November 27 but did not report the incident to the Financial Supervisory Service until 10:58 a.m. During this period, hackers stole over 104 billion Solana-based tokens worth approximately 44.5 billion South Korean won within 54 minutes.
Upbit held an emergency meeting 18 minutes after detecting the attack and suspended deposits and withdrawals for Solana network tokens 27 minutes later. By 8:55 a.m., it had completely halted deposit and withdrawal services for all digital assets. However, current laws lack direct penalty provisions for cybersecurity incidents involving virtual asset service providers, making it difficult for the Financial Supervisory Service to impose significant penalties.
In response, Upbit stated it has fully compensated users' losses using its own funds and reported the incident to authorities immediately upon confirming it was a breach.
