Passport data of the President of South Korea leaked online
Personal data of the President's wife and administration staff has also been posted on a paid resource. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched an investigation into the situation.
Passport data belonging to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has been leaked to the internet. Personal data related to his trip to Europe in June appeared online, after which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an investigation into the matter.
Currently, measures are being taken to issue new passports for the president, his wife, and other official figures whose information was disclosed. A file containing the personal data of 168 people who participated in Lee Jae-myung's trip to Europe in June was posted on a paid internet resource. Among them are the president himself, his wife Kim Keon-hee, as well as staff from the presidential administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the security service, and journalists.
The file contains the individuals' names in Korean and English, positions, dates of birth, passport numbers, and document expiration dates. Presumably, the data was posted on the internet on June 2, about a week before the president's trip to Belgium, Italy, and France.
The presidential administration stated that it is aware of the situation and that appropriate measures have been taken. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched an investigation to determine the details of the incident. The investigation aims to determine how the data escaped from secured systems. In doing so, potential actions by employees, violations of data storage rules, or the possibility of external interference will also be examined.
Additionally, to prevent further leaks of information related to the president's trip, the ministry is conducting a technical audit of the computers and email accounts used in organizing the trip. Measures have also been taken to remove the data from the site and prevent its further dissemination.
The KBS television channel stated that after discovering this information on the internet, it notified the presidential administration. So far, there is no evidence that the data has spread to other sources.