"Passports to be reissued for 168 Air Force One passengers"... Foreign Ministry: "A leak, not hacking"

[Financial News] Passports for all 168 Air Force One passengers, including President Lee Jae-myung and his wife, will be reissued following the worst data leak ever. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also believes the incident resulted from an internal leak, not an external hack, and has asked police to investigate.
On the 3rd, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would reissue the passports of all 168 Air Force One passengers whose sensitive information was leaked.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Du-sun said, "We are swiftly implementing measures to ensure the smooth reissuance of passports for all personnel aboard Air Force One, including the president and his spouse."
The incident is reportedly more likely to have resulted from an internal leak than an external hacking attack. Spokesperson Park said, "We understand it to be a leak rather than hacking," adding, "We are conducting an investigation to determine how the leak occurred, in cooperation with relevant agencies, including the National Police Agency."
The Foreign Ministry, however, did not clearly say when it became aware of the leak. He said, "As soon as we had confirmed the leak beforehand, we requested a criminal investigation and an inquiry. We are taking additional measures, including deleting the information and preventing further leaks of personal data."
The Foreign Ministry also did not say which ministries the Air Force One passenger list was shared with. Spokesperson Park only responded, "The passenger list is managed as a classified document, and in that capacity, we at the Foreign Ministry handle the material."
It also said that a comprehensive and in-depth investigation is underway, including technical checks of PCs and email related to the president's overseas trip events last June. It said it was taking steps to prevent further harm, including removing the information from the website in question and checking whether other personal information had been leaked.
Earlier, a list of Air Force One passengers believed to have been compiled during the G7 Summit trip last June was posted on a paid website related to security for about five months.
The list reportedly contained the personal information of a total of 168 people, including President Lee and his wife, senior government officials such as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, and Cheong Wa Dae National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac, as well as Presidential Security Service (PSS) staff and reporters accompanying the trip. It was said to include sensitive information such as their affiliations, positions, dates of birth, and passport numbers.
Related materials were posted beginning on June 2, a week before the trip was due to depart last June. Reports that the identities of personnel providing close protection to the president and medical staff had also been exposed raised security concerns.
With the personal information of 168 people, including the president and his wife, aides, and reporters, exposed online for a full five months, fears have even emerged that the information may have reached hostile countries. The People Power Party condemned the leak, saying it stemmed from lax discipline at Cheong Wa Dae.
The People Power Party condemned the incident that day, saying, "Making key information about President Lee's diplomatic trip available to an unspecified number of people is a security debacle, tantamount to throwing open the front door of one's home to an enemy state or terrorist group." It also called on President Lee to apologize for the lax discipline at Cheong Wa Dae and to hold those responsible to account.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter