Business · Companies · 2 hrs ago
Half of South Korean bank service outages stemmed from software errors
South Korea’s 19 banks recorded 554 mobile and online banking outages from January 2022 through August 2026.
More than half, or 280 outages, were caused by software errors.
SC First Bank had the most outages, with 83, followed by Toss Bank with 63 and KakaoBank with 53.
Banks paid compensation to 109,769 customers, but the average payment was about 1,400 won per person.
KakaoBank accounted for 69,686 of those customers, while its average payment was about 28 won.
The bank said that figure was largely linked to compensation for a savings feature that failed to collect small deposits, along with cases of duplicate transport-card charges.
A lawmaker called for stronger system checks and fairer compensation, but no specific next steps were announced.
South Korean banks recorded 554 mobile and internet banking service outages from January 2022 through August 2026, with software errors accounting for 280, or 50.5%.
The figures, provided by the Financial Supervisory Service to lawmaker Park Sung-hoon, cover 19 banks.
SC First Bank had the most outages, at 83, followed by Toss Bank with 63 and KakaoBank with 53.
A total of 109,769 customers received compensation, averaging about 1,400 won per person.
KakaoBank’s average compensation was about 28 won per recipient, the article reported.
- Who
- Nineteen South Korean banks and customers affected by their mobile and internet banking outages.
- What
- Banks recorded 554 outages, more than half attributed to software errors. About 109,769 customers received compensation.
- When
- From January 2022 through August 2026; the figures were reported on October 28, 2026.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- Software errors were identified as the cause of 280 outages. The sources do not state why these errors occurred.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The 19 banks recorded 554 mobile and internet banking outages during this period.
Maeil Business reported the figures provided to lawmaker Park Sung-hoon by the Financial Supervisory Service.
- Banks covered
- 19 South Korean banks
- Total outages
- 554
- Software-error outages
- 280 (50.5%)
- Most outages
- SC First Bank: 83
- Customers compensated
- 109,769
- Total compensation
- 153,642,133 won
What people are saying
Repeated service outages caused by program errors indicate that banks have been negligent in basic system testing and management.
The impact came from paying a total of 200,000 won to 60,000 customers because the automatic saving function of the small-savings product ‘Piggy Bank’ did not work.
We refunded 13 million won in interest for 501 cases missed due to an error in the interest-rate reduction registration program for customers who faithfully repaid Sunshine Loan, and additionally paid small compensation for interest delays during that period.