Cheong Wa Dae orders probes into data leak of Lee, aides, security guards

Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday ordered a thorough investigation into a personal data leak involving President Lee Jae Myung, presidential aides, security personnel and journalists accompanying his overseas trip.

The move came after KBS reported Monday that passport details and other personal information of 168 people aboard the presidential aircraft had been exposed online for about five months.

Presidential chief of staff Lim Kwang-hyun convened an emergency meeting Tuesday morning to discuss the incident, according to a written statement issued by senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.

During the meeting, Lim underscored that the leak of personal information involving the presidential delegation was "a serious matter that must not be taken lightly."

Lee called for a "thorough investigation into how the information was leaked, the extent of the exposure and whether any actual damage had occurred," according to Kang.

Lim also stressed the need to "clearly establish the responsibility of relevant agencies" for the personal data leak. Lim called on relevant agencies to "conduct a comprehensive review of security protocols for presidential overseas trips and devise effective measures to prevent similar incidents," Kang added.

The presidential office has not yet disclosed how the information was leaked or whether any actual damage resulted from the breach.

According to the KBS report, a file containing a passenger list for South Korea's presidential aircraft, known as Air Force One, was uploaded to a cybersecurity website on June 2, a week before Lee departed for a European trip.

Paid subscribers and antivirus companies could download the file without restrictions, making it difficult to determine who may have accessed the sensitive information, according to the local broadcaster.

The passenger list is believed to be linked to Lee's June 9 departure for Brussels, where he was scheduled to attend a South Korea-Belgium summit and meetings with European Union leaders as part of a broader European trip.

The file contained personal information belonging to Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, as well as senior government officials, including then-presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom, national security adviser Wi Sung-lac and several Cabinet ministers.

The exposed information included names in Korean and English, affiliations, job titles, dates of birth, passport numbers and passport issuance and expiration dates.

The list also identified presidential security officers, medical staff accompanying the president, working-level officials from Cheong Wa Dae and the Foreign Ministry and journalists covering the trip.

KBS said it verified the authenticity of some of the leaked information by cross-checking passport numbers and dates of birth with those of individuals named in the file.