LG Uplus has been accused of attempting to destroy evidence by discarding a server linked to its internal account management system shortly after receiving a data breach report

Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday that the company physically disposed of an account management server on July 31, just ten days after the Korea Internet & Security Agency warned LG Uplus and KT of possible intrusions flagged by an ethical hacker.

Critics argue the telecom firm should have delayed the planned disposal to preserve evidence, especially since the APPM server, which manages employee credentials, was under scrutiny.

Lawmakers have also accused the company of erasing traces of the breach by updating the APPM server's operating system on Aug. 12.

A cybersecurity expert told Yonhap News that with the server gone, investigators may struggle to determine “what data hackers viewed or extracted.”

LG Uplus denied any cover-up, saying the disposal was part of a prescheduled plan unrelated to the compromised system and that the affected server had nothing to do with the external contractor SecureKey, which was targeted in the hacking incident.