South Korea rushes to reissue passports to President Lee, wife after data leak

South Korea’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it was taking steps to reissue passports for all 168 people affected by an online leak of sensitive personal information, including President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea-kyung, as police investigate how the data was exposed.

“The foreign ministry is swiftly taking measures to ensure the smooth reissuance of passports for all affected individuals, including the president and first lady,” ministry spokesman Park Doo-soon said during a briefing.

Police have opened a preliminary investigation into the leak, which involved personal information belonging to the presidential couple, cabinet members, senior officials from the presidential office and the foreign ministry, security personnel and reporters travelling with the presidential delegation.

The National Police Agency launched the investigation after passenger information and sensitive personal data related to the presidential aircraft were found posted online.

The foreign ministry said it requested an investigation by relevant authorities immediately after discovering the leak and is working with police and other agencies to determine how it occurred. It is also conducting a broader review, including technical inspections of computers and email accounts used in connection with the president’s overseas trip in June.

The exposed information reportedly contained Korean and English names, affiliations, job titles, dates of birth, passport numbers and passport issuance and expiration dates. The file had reportedly been available on a paid security-related website since June 2, before Lee departed for the trip and remained accessible for months.

There is speculation that the leak may have involved an outside party, though investigators have yet to establish the circumstances surrounding the breach or identify those responsible.

The foreign ministry said it had taken steps to have the information removed from the website and was checking whether any other personal data had been exposed in an effort to prevent further damage.

Meanwhile, Lee called on Tuesday for the creation of a powerful governmentwide cybersecurity body to coordinate functions scattered across agencies.

“The existing security system, which centres on inspections and after-the-fact responses, is showing clear limitations,” Lee told a cabinet meeting, calling for a comprehensive preventive system to protect public services ⁠and critical infrastructure.

“There ⁠is also a need to discuss setting up a governmentwide task force ‌that spans both the public and private sectors,” Lee said.

“I ask that you ‌actively ‌consider forming a powerful and effective cybersecurity ‘tsar’ body that ‌can oversee and coordinate security functions that are currently scattered.”