KT Corporation — Ethics Grade D

KT Corporation receives an overall ethics grade of D (32/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Telecommunications. Market cap: Mid Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 45
• privacy: 15
• consumer: 20
• environment: 60
• humanRights: 50

Documented incidents (3)

• Intentional Malware Infection (high, 2024) — KT was investigated for intentionally infecting over 600,000 customers who used grid-computing file sharing services with malware to throttle their data usage. The malware caused computer crashes and performance issues.
• Political Slush Fund Scandal (high, 2022) — The company was fined by the SEC for providing illegal political contributions and gifts to South Korean lawmakers through a slush fund created by executives. This violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
• Nationwide Network Failure (medium, 2021) — A major routing error caused a nationwide internet outage in South Korea, paralyzing businesses and payment systems. The company initially falsely blamed a DDoS attack.

Documented good deeds

• AI Care for Seniors — Launched an AI-based emergency response system for elderly citizens living alone to detect falls and distress.

Ethical alternatives

• SK Telecom — Better track record of corporate governance and customer privacy protection.