South Korea replaces passports for president and 167 others after data breach

South Korea is moving quickly to replace passports for 168 individuals, including President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea-kyung, following an online breach that exposed sensitive personal details.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Tuesday that it is organizing new travel documents for everyone whose records were compromised in the incident. Police have started an inquiry to determine the origin and mechanism of the online exposure.

According to ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon, officials are working urgently to facilitate the replacement process for all impacted citizens, with the head of state and the first lady among them.

The security breach affected a wide circle of state representatives and accompanying personnel. Beyond the presidential couple, the compromised personal data involved members of the cabinet along with senior figures from both the foreign ministry and the presidential office.

Members of the presidential security detail and journalists assigned to cover official presidential delegations also had their details exposed during the leak. Law enforcement authorities have initiated a preliminary investigation to examine how the sensitive files were published on the internet and who was responsible for the security lapse.

Officials have not yet publicly disclosed the full extent of the compromised information or whether any malicious exploitation of the leaked data has occurred. The foreign ministry’s ongoing replacement program aims to mitigate identity theft and international travel risks for the affected state officials and accompanying staff.