Cyberattack on Yes24 Reignites Debate Over Digital Content Ownership (Image courtesy of Pixabay/CCL)
SEOUL, June 13 (Korea Bizwire) — A major hacking incident that has paralyzed South Korea’s largest online bookstore, Yes24, for more than four days has reignited public debate over the vulnerability and ownership of digital content—particularly e-books.
The service disruption, caused by a ransomware attack disclosed on June 9, has left more than 20 million Yes24 users unable to access any of the platform’s services, including their purchased e-book libraries and the Crema Club subscription service. While Yes24 works to restore operations, readers have taken to social media to voice their frustration—and question what ownership really means in the digital era.
“I paid for over 300 e-books, but now they’re being held hostage,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter). Others echoed similar concerns: “I paid for them, but apparently they’re not really mine,” and “If a platform goes down, my library disappears with it—how is this permanent ownership?”
University student Kim Ju-hyun, a Crema Club subscriber, said the incident has exposed the limitations of e-books compared to physical books. “There’s hardly a price difference, yet we’re completely dependent on the service provider,” she said. “How can we trust digital platforms when they respond so passively to hacking?”
E-book reader (Image provided by Kyobo Book Centre)
While some users sympathized with platforms’ reluctance to provide downloadable files like PDFs or ePubs due to piracy risks, many argued that consumers should retain more control over their purchases. The episode, they say, makes it painfully clear that e-book “ownership” is contingent on uninterrupted platform access.
Critics also noted that despite e-books being cheaper to produce—no printing, binding, or storage—they’re typically priced at 70–80% of print editions. “Now we see the hidden cost,” said a 38-year-old design professional who relies on digital reference materials. “The entire system hinges on fragile access, and this event could damage industry-wide credibility.”
Yes24 headquarters (Yonhap)
Online, users demanded compensation and transparency. One longtime Yes24 customer, claiming to own more than 2,000 e-books and ₩500,000 in stored digital credits, said, “Even if the service resumes, I won’t feel secure enough to continue using it.”
This isn’t the first breach to hit the e-book sector. In 2023, rival bookstore Aladin suffered a leak of over 5,000 e-book files. Earlier still, a 2000 hack saw Stephen King’s then-new release Riding the Bullet distributed illegally just two days after publication.
Unlike past incidents, which primarily impacted publishers and authors, the Yes24 outage directly restricts consumer access—highlighting how the risks of digital content now extend well beyond copyright to service continuity.
South Korea’s e-book market has more than doubled in size over the past five years. According to the Korea Publishing and Culture Industry Promotion Agency, digital book sales totaled ₩560.1 billion in 2022, up 2.2% from the previous year and more than double the ₩219.3 billion recorded in 2017.
Still, the incident underscores the fragility of that growth. Baek Won-geun, head of the Books and Society Research Institute, warned, “E-books are ultimately tied to the lifespan and stability of a service provider. If you can’t access it independently, you don’t really own it.”
He urged companies to apply stronger security protocols and develop emergency response mechanisms in partnership with authorities. “Trust, once lost, is difficult to regain,” he added.
As Yes24 scrambles to restore its systems, the broader industry now faces a pressing challenge: rebuilding consumer confidence in an increasingly digital publishing landscape.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
