[Insight] What is SOAR? A Complete Guide to SOAR and 17.1% Growth in the K-Cybersecurity Market by 2026

🔐 Security World SOAR Special Feature, Revisited from SecuLayer's Perspective!

Hello, we are SecuLayer, an AI-based big data analysis and autonomous security operations company.

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✅ What if less than 10% of security alerts are actually responded to while they keep piling up?

There is a somewhat shocking statistic.

According to a survey conducted by Security News and Security World in August 2026, targeting 1,032 domestic security experts,
39.6% responded that the rate of actual response and action taken for security alerts occurring daily is less than 10%.

In other words, more than 9 out of 10 security alerts are simply ignored.

This is not a problem with the system. It is a limitation of the structure that requires humans to check and assess the flood of alerts one by one.
The solution that has emerged to address this issue is SOAR.

SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) is a security platform that orchestrates different security solutions into one,
automating the process from threat detection to response.

To put it simply, it works like this.

• SIEM collects logs from various security devices and alerts that "there are signs of anomalies."

• SOAR receives that alert and automatically executes "what action to take on which device" according to the playbook.

SOAR has rapidly evolved since Gartner first proposed the concept in 2015, adapting to market demands.
And now, in 2026, it is reaching a significant turning point in its growth in South Korea.

Data from global market research firms shows just how steep the growth rate of the SOAR market is.

• Global SOAR Market: $1.6 billion in 2023 → $5.7 billion in 2032 (15% annual growth)

• Korean SOAR Market: Approximately 53.6 billion KRW in 2024 → Approximately 137.7 billion KRW in 2030 (annual growth of 17.1%)

Notably, the growth rate in the Korean market exceeds the global average.
This is because the domestic security regulatory environment and demand from the public and financial sectors are creating stronger growth momentum.

SecuLayer has diagnosed the current market situation in this special article.

"The market has completely settled into a 'necessary integrated monitoring platform' beyond just the 'interest stage,' and the demand for an integrated security operations platform combining SIEM and SOAR is increasing. While the initial implementations were mainly focused on large public institutions or enterprises,
the adoption base is now expanding to finance, defense, local governments, and private companies."

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In September 2025, the National Intelligence Service officially mentioned SOAR in the 'National Network Security Framework (N2SF) Security Guidelines Commentary.'

The commentary states that "it should be implemented to enable real-time responses to security events in conjunction with SIEM, UEBA, SOAR, etc."

Why is this important?

N2SF is a system that categorizes information into C (Confidential), S (Sensitive), and O (Public) grades for differential control, increasing the number of security control items from 176 to over 260. A system that processes different response procedures by grade in a consistent and automated manner has become essential.

The national-level guidelines are making SOAR a de facto essential component rather than just a recommendation.

SecuLayer has accurately pinpointed the core of this change. ​

"The fact that SOAR integrates and controls existing security assets through APIs without replacing them has heightened interest from public institutions.
The market demand is shifting from the adoption of a single SOAR to inquiries about large-scale advanced projects that integrate SIEM + UEBA + SOAR into a single layer or the entire security operations platform of an institution."

✅ The Real Reasons for Implementing SOAR in the Field

In this survey, the reasons respondents are considering or implementing SOAR (multiple responses allowed) reveal a sense of urgency in the field.

▲SOAR Solution User Survey [Source: Security News·Security World]

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Ultimately, security personnel are hoping that "machines will handle the overwhelming amount of alerts that humans cannot manage."
And this demand is directly impacting budgets.

✅ What Are the Challenges in Implementing SOAR?

There are practical challenges as well. The biggest obstacles to building SOAR identified by survey respondents are as follows.

▲SOAR Solution User Survey [Source: Security News·Security World]

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Among these, the issue of Korean-style playbooks deserves particular attention.
Simply importing overseas standard procedures will not work.
This is because each domestic organization has different combinations of equipment, log fields, approval structures, personal information policies, and network separation environments.

SecuLayer understands this aspect better than anyone.

"Understanding and coordinating the administrative aspects of Korean security monitoring, such as approval waiting, automatic notification to related agencies, and user clarification procedures, is necessary."

Thousands of operational experiences accumulated in the field are the source of this 'Korean-style know-how.'

The evolution of SOAR does not stop here. AI is elevating the possibilities of SOAR to a new dimension.

Existing rule-based playbooks are strong against known threats but require manual updates every time new or mutated attacks emerge.
When combined with generative AI and LLM technology, the following becomes possible.

• AI automatically summarizes and organizes large volumes of security events

• AI analyzes correlations between complex logs

• Recommends action plans based on historical data

• Reduces analyst workload through natural language Q&A

SecuLayer is also providing clear answers in this direction.
By advancing into an integrated security operations platform that combines SIEM, UEBA, and SOAR,
we focus on connecting the flow from collection, normalization, and correlation analysis to ticketing, playbooks, and actual device actions.

It is a natural progression for SecuLayer eyeCloudXOAR to be featured in this Security News and Security World SOAR special report.

eyeCloudXOAR is, as the name suggests, eXtended SOAR, meaning an expanded SOAR.
It is the leading K-SOAR in South Korea, fully integrating SIEM, SOAR, UEBA, and AI into a single platform according to business processes.

In particular, the advanced version of eyeCloudXOAR has officially integrated UEBA, expanding the monitoring targets from devices and IPs to people (Entities).
It has also seamlessly incorporated Korean-style security monitoring administrative procedures such as approval processes, notifications to related agencies, and user clarifications into the playbook flow, which is a unique strength of eyeCloudXOAR.

• Operational experience verified in over 5,000 sites in South Korea

• Ranked #1 in integrated security management market share for four consecutive years

• Holds 74 patents
  
  All of this indicates that eyeCloudXOAR is not just a product, but a platform that has evolved alongside the domestic security field.

✅ In Conclusion — From Event Handling Organization to Threat Response Organization

The Security News article concludes like this.

"Ultimately, SOAR is about delegating repetitive tasks to machines so that humans can focus on what requires judgment.
Isn't now a great opportunity for domestic security monitoring to transform from an 'event handling organization' to a 'threat response organization'?"

SecuLayer wants to be at the center of this transformation with eyeCloudXOAR.

Moving away from security operations overwhelmed by alerts, to an environment where we can focus on real threats.

That is the future of security that eyeCloudXOAR is creating.

Learn more about eyeCloudXOAR → https://www.seculayer.com/ko/product/security