Personal information belonging to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and members of his official staff has reportedly been exposed online, according to local media reports on Monday.
South Korean broadcaster KBS reported that the passport details and other personal records of 168 individuals, including the president, employees of his presidential office and Foreign Ministry officials, were published on a website.
The leaked information was reportedly included in a downloadable document titled “List of Passengers (Republic of Korea-Belgium).” The file was uploaded on June 2, shortly before Lee’s official overseas visit.
The Republic of Korea is the country’s official name.
According to the report, the document contained information about passengers who travelled aboard the presidential aircraft during Lee’s visits to Belgium, Italy and France in June.
The exposed records reportedly included individuals’ names in both Korean and English, their organisational affiliations, official positions, dates of birth, passport numbers and passport expiry dates.
The presidential office confirmed that it had been informed about the reported disclosure and had already taken measures to address the situation.
Meanwhile, a Foreign Ministry official expressed serious concern over the incident, stating that authorities were carrying out a comprehensive investigation to establish how the sensitive information had been leaked.
Officials said the investigation would examine the circumstances surrounding the publication of the records and other possible aspects of the security breach.
PRESS UPDATE