Although overall IT investment steadily increased to 36.1 trillion won in 2024, cybersecurity has consistently accounted for only about 6% of that total, showing little change over the past three years. (Image: ChatGPT)
SEOUL, July 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s largest corporations continue to invest heavily in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, but their spending on cybersecurity remains strikingly low — averaging just 0.1% of total revenue, according to new industry data.
A study released Wednesday by corporate research firm CEO Score analyzed disclosures from 585 companies over the past three years. It found that despite a 28.4% year-on-year increase in total cybersecurity investment — from 1.77 trillion won in 2022 to 2.24 trillion won ($1.62 billion) in 2024 — the proportion of revenue allocated to information protection remained stagnant at around 0.1%.
While overall IT investment grew steadily — reaching 36.1 trillion won in 2024 — cybersecurity’s share of that total has hovered around 6%, barely moving over three years.
“In the age of AI, major corporations are aggressively expanding their IT spending, yet remain relatively neglectful of essential cybersecurity infrastructure,” CEO Score noted.
Only two companies, Samsung Electronics and KT, invested more than 1 trillion won in information protection last year, spending 3.56 trillion won and 1.25 trillion won, respectively. Other notable investors included Coupang, LG Uplus, SK Telecom, Samsung SDS, SK Hynix, and Naver.
(Image courtesy of Ceoscore)
Despite managing vast amounts of sensitive user data, major platform and telecom companies posted below-average ratios of cybersecurity investment relative to their broader IT budgets.
Naver, Kakao, and Naver Cloud allocated just 3.5%, 4.5%, and 5.1% respectively — all falling short of the 6.2% corporate average. Among telecom providers, SK Telecom, which recently faced a major SIM-swapping incident, recorded the lowest cybersecurity share at 4.2%.
In response, SK Telecom said it plans to invest 700 billion won over the next five years to achieve the highest level of cybersecurity among domestic telecom and platform providers. “We are committed to becoming a company where customers can entrust their data with confidence,” a spokesperson said.
As South Korea accelerates its digital transformation, industry experts warn that underinvestment in cybersecurity could pose growing risks for companies and consumers alike.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
