South Korean presidential office holds emergency meeting after reports of personal data leak involving Lee Jae-myung and entourage

Lim Kwang-hyeon, chief of the Presidential Office Secretariat, on Tuesday chaired an emergency meeting at the presidential residence to discuss the leak of personal data concerning President Lee Jae-myung and members of his accompanying delegation during an overseas trip last June.

The meeting came after media reports said a computer file containing personal data for members of Lee Jae-myung’s entourage had been uploaded that same month to a paid website.

Those reports said the affected people included the first lady, the then-chief of presidential policy Kim Young-byum, and National Security Adviser Wi Seong-lak, along with government ministers, presidential officials and journalists. They said the leak exposed personal data for a total of 168 people, including dates of birth and passport numbers.

Lim Kwang-hyeon described the incident as "a serious incident that cannot be overlooked," stressing the need for an investigation to determine the scope of the data breach and the resulting damage, as well as to identify those responsible for the incident.

The chief of the Presidential Office Secretariat asked the relevant government bodies to review the security management system for presidential overseas tours and to put in place effective countermeasures, the presidential office said.