Home > Business > Economy

Cybersecurity work force remains flat in 2024 despite rise in data breaches

Published: 06 Nov. 2025, 15:28

Choi Woo-hyuk, director general for network policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, announces interim investigation results into the KT security breach during a press briefing at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Nov. 6. [NEWS1]

The number of cybersecurity experts in Korea remained nearly unchanged last year from a year earlier, despite a recent rise in data breaches across industries, government data showed Thursday.

According to data released by the Ministry of Science and ICT, 66,300 people were employed at companies related to information protection in 2024, up 10 percent from a year earlier.

Of them, 24,000 were engaged in the cybersecurity sector, up just 0.2 percent from the previous year.

The number of experts in physical protection, covering human, facility and information security against theft or damage, rose 16.6 percent on-year to 42,000 last year.

The data also showed that the number of information protection companies increased 4.2 percent to 1,780 in 2024, including 876 cybersecurity firms.

Revenues from the information protection industry totaled 18.6 trillion won ($12.9 billion) last year, up 10.5 percent from a year earlier.

Exports of information protection solutions reached 1.9 trillion won last year, up 11.4 percent on-year.

Concerns over cybersecurity recently escalated following a series of data breaches at major telecom and financial companies here, including SK Telecom and Lotte Card.

Yonhap