[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Minister Lee Soyoung: "Startup for Everyone" Platform to Be Rebuilt Next Year

Criticism over continued use of existing platform after data leak
"Temporarily used after security measures until new platform is ready"

Questions were raised during a parliamentary audit after the same platform continued to be used for the second round of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' startup support program, "Startup for Everyone," even after participants' email addresses and startup ideas were leaked. Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee Soyoung said she understood that a new company would be selected next year to build a new platform.

At the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee audit of the ministry on October 7, Rep. Yoon Hanhong of the People Power Party asked Lee why the platform continued to be used for the second round after the data breach, naming Tripleos, the developer of the "Startup for Everyone" platform.

Lee explained, "The company did not win a new contract for the second round. The platform built under the existing contract is being used as is for the second round as well." She added, "After that incident, four agencies - the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Personal Information Protection Commission - all reviewed the platform and took security measures. I understand that it is being used temporarily until a new one is built, as its security has since been more thoroughly verified."

She added, "I understand that a new company will be selected next year to build a new platform."

Lee Soyoung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, responds to lawmakers’ questions during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups at the National Assembly on the 7th. Photo by Yoon Dongju

Yoon had earlier raised the leak of participants' information during the first round, saying, "The email addresses and startup ideas of all 5,000 successful applicants were leaked." Lee said the leaked information included "personal email addresses, summaries of ideas, and evaluation comments." Regarding the investigation, she said, "The police are investigating, and some cases have been referred to the prosecution. Based on the reports received so far, it appears that no financial losses have occurred."

The selection process for Tripleos, the platform developer, also came under scrutiny. Yoon said the ministry and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development had responded that there were no related documents because the platform was built through a private-sector partnership with Shinhan Bank. However, he claimed that documents obtained from Shinhan Bank included a statement of work in which the institute named a specific company and proposed an amount.

Regarding the selection process, Lee said, "Because the platform had to be built in such a short time, some companies declined to take on the work. I understand that two companies were eventually found with difficulty and recommended." She added, "We will make sure this never happens again."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.