Unveiling Insider Threats in South Korean Companies: Causes and Countermeasures Through Convenience Theory and Perceived Punishment
Joo-Young Lee · Deviant Behavior · 2025
In modern society, information is an invaluable asset; insider threats therefore extend beyond personal disputes and can inflict systemic harm. Empirical research on why employees betray their organizations remains sparse, limiting effective safeguards. Addressing that gap, this study applies both Convenience Theory and Deterrence Theory to insider threats in South Korea and examines their underlying drivers and remedies. Survey data from 299 managerial/professional and general office employees furnish baseline evidence for policy. Findings confirm that Convenience Theory captures the interaction of financial motive, opportunity, and willingness. Perceived certainty, severity, and celerity of sanctions curb threats only when concealment seems feasible; other motives require non-punitive controls. Accordingly, our results indicate that punishment-centric countermeasures against insider threats are inherently limited in their effectiveness. Conducted under constrained resources, this work is one of the first empirical tests of Convenience Theory in the Korean context and demonstrates its practical utility, paving the way for more sophisticated analyses. Because any employee may be tempted to misuse privileged access, broader, deeper, and cross-cultural studies are urgently needed.