South Korean president, ministers among 168 officials whose personal data leaked online

South Korea’s presidential office held an emergency meeting on Tuesday after personal information belonging to President Lee Jae-myung and 167 others accompanying him on an overseas trip was leaked online, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The meeting, chaired by presidential chief of staff Lim Kwang-hyun, followed reports that a file containing personal details of the presidential entourage had been uploaded to a publicly accessible website in June.

The exposed information reportedly included dates of birth and passport numbers.

Those affected included the first lady, senior presidential aides, government ministers, security officials and journalists.

Lee took office in June following a snap presidential election triggered by the removal of former President Yoon Suk-yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration in December 2024.

Lim described the breach as a “serious incident” and ordered an investigation into its extent, potential damage and those responsible.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said authorities were conducting technical inspections of computers and email accounts linked to the June trip.

The ministry has secured the removal of the leaked information from the website and is checking for further exposure.

Authorities are also arranging replacement passports for everyone affected, including the president and first lady.

Park said the incident was being investigated as a data leak rather than a hacking incident, adding that documents related to presidential overseas trips are classified.

TRT World / Anadolu Agency — TRT World / Anadolu Agency

Photo: AFP