National Security Research Institute employees disciplined for gaming during work

Five employees at the National Security Research Institute (NSRI) Cyber Security Training Center were disciplined after being caught repeatedly accessing StarCraft Battle.net game servers during working hours. Data submitted to the National Assembly by Representative Hwang Jeong-ah revealed that between September and December 2024, these employees exploited the absence of managers on leave or business trips to access gaming servers using work PCs.

Some employees logged cumulative access times exceeding 90 hours, with one individual recorded connecting for 8 hours and 53 minutes in a single day. The breach was possible because the center used an external educational network that lacked strict blocking of non-work-related sites. Even after experimental internet lines were blocked in December, some employees attempted to reconnect via the internal local network.

The incident was brought to light following a report from a colleague via the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) whistleblower system. The employees claimed they accessed the servers to unwind after major events, though they argued they were not playing games for the entire duration of the connection.

While the NSRI issued reprimands (gyeonchaek), the severity of the punishment has faced criticism. Representative Hwang Jeong-ah described the disciplinary action as a “slap on the wrist,” noting that even when salary reductions were deemed appropriate for certain employees, past awards were used to lower the final penalty. The NSRI has since integrated the educational lines into a centralized management system to block non-work sites.