SEOUL, Nov. 3 — Police are investigating the online posting of a passenger file from President Lee Jae Myung’s June trip, while the Foreign Ministry arranges replacement passports for those affected.
The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) said it opened a preliminary investigation into the exposure. Police said the file, titled “Passenger list (South Korea-Belgium),” was posted June 2 on a paid security-related website and remained accessible for about five months.
Police said the file exposed information on 168 people. KBS reported that those affected included government officials, presidential and Foreign Ministry staff, security personnel and journalists. KBS reported that the file listed names in Korean and English, affiliations, job titles, birth dates, passport numbers, and passport issuance and expiration dates.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said the ministry is coordinating with police and other agencies and inspecting computers and email accounts connected to the June trip. The ministry said it had the information removed from the website, is checking for other exposures and is arranging new passports for everyone affected.
Park said the ministry views the incident as a leak rather than a hacking incident. It said materials related to presidential overseas trips are managed as classified documents.
Police suspect the file may have been posted while a website was being used to scan files or web addresses for malicious code. They have not established how it was uploaded or who posted it. EconoTimes previously covered the inquiry into the exposed passenger file.
