[Exclusive] Personal Data of 67,000 Leaked at Woongjin Compass, a Woongjin Thinkbig Affiliate

Unauthorized Access to Management System... Police Investigation Requested

A major personal information leak occurred at an affiliate of Woongjin Thinkbig.

According to industry sources on October 21, personal information belonging to members of Noriui Balgyeon, a kids' activity platform operated by Woongjin Compass, an affiliate of Woongjin Thinkbig, was leaked. Noriui Balgyeon is a platform that facilitates bookings and purchases of a range of leisure products, including educational field trips, play facilities and accommodations, for children and families.

Seo Jongyun, CEO of Woongjin Compass, notified users of the personal information leak and posted an apology through the notices section of the Noriui Balgyeon app. According to the apology, the incident occurred between 6:45 p.m. on October 18 and 12:50 a.m. on October 19. An unauthorized external party reportedly gained illegal access to Noriui Balgyeon's administrative system (back office) and viewed member information.

The leaked personal information included nicknames, mobile phone numbers and email addresses. Passwords and payment information were not leaked. Woongjin Compass estimates that approximately 67,000 members were affected.

Woongjin Compass said, "We completely blocked access as soon as we detected signs of unusual activity on the morning of October 19," adding, "We changed the password for the administrator account and suspended the use of suspicious accounts." Affected members were notified individually by text message and email. The company has also reported the incident to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and the Personal Information Protection Commission, and requested an investigation by the Seocho Police Station.

Play Discovery Apology. Woongjin Compass

As security incidents continue to occur at major education companies whose main customers are parents and children, concerns about personal information management are growing.

Earlier, in January, Kyowon Group also suffered a ransomware attack that paralyzed the computer networks of major affiliates. Eight affiliates, including Kyowon, Kyowon Kumon, Kyowon Wiz and Kyowon Life, were affected. At the time, Kyowon Group confirmed signs that data had been leaked externally and reported the incident to the relevant authorities. The number of users of affected services was estimated at approximately 5.54 million, excluding duplicates.

In the education industry, parents have considerable concerns about security incidents, as information about children's development, including their names, dates of birth and photos, accumulates on various education and childcare platforms. With security incidents occurring one after another in the industry, some are calling for companies' personal information management practices and security systems to be reviewed.

A Woongjin Thinkbig representative said, "We sincerely apologize for causing concern to our customers due to the personal information leak," adding, "We are taking measures to prevent further harm and conducting a company-wide review of our security systems. We will further strengthen our personal information protection and security management to prevent similar incidents in the future."

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