'Startups for All' personal information leak prompts police to launch preliminary investigation

Police have launched a preliminary investigation into the personal information leak involving the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Startups for All project.
The National Police Agency's National Office of Investigation said on the 23rd that it had ordered a preliminary probe the same day after a government notice about the Startups for All data leak was posted on the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) website on the 18th.
The Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency's Cyber Investigation Unit will handle the preliminary investigation. Police also received a request for an investigation from KISED the previous day.
A police official said, "We will quickly investigate by tracing how the leak occurred."
Earlier, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said that the personal information of 5,000 winners of the Startups for All project had been leaked. An investigation found that the incident was not caused by an external attack, but by a hack of a company that had participated as a vendor supporting project applicants. The items confirmed leaked so far include private email addresses, idea summaries and review comments.
The previous day, Han Seong-sook, the Minister of SMEs and Startups and Prime Minister-designate, said as she arrived at the office of the confirmation hearing preparation team, "We failed to protect the trust of those who believed in the government and took on the challenge of starting a business," adding, "As the minister in charge, I deeply feel the heavy responsibility and offer my sincere apologies."
welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yu-ha Reporter