Police Upgrade Probe into 'Air Force One Passenger Data Leak' Involving President Lee and First Lady

Formal investigation launched a day after preliminary inquiry began
Police probe leak of personal information, including passport numbers

Police have launched an investigation into the online leak of personal information belonging to 168 people aboard Air Force One, including President Lee Jaemyung and First Lady Kim Hyekyung, as well as Cabinet members.

President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung are disembarking from Air Force One. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju

The National Police Agency's Cyber Terror Investigation Unit said on November 3 that it had upgraded its inquiry into the leak of personal information belonging to passengers aboard Air Force One, the presidential aircraft, from a preliminary inquiry to a formal investigation.

The information was exposed on a website that scans files and internet addresses for malware. Paid members and others are reportedly able to download uploaded files. There are concerns that personal information may have been exposed to outside parties when the file was uploaded for a security check. However, the specific circumstances of how it was posted have not been confirmed.

The file posted on the website in June was titled "Passenger List (Republic of Korea-Belgium)." It reportedly contained a list of passengers aboard Air Force One during a European tour that included Belgium, Italy and France. The list is said to have included key government officials, such as President Lee and the first lady, Wi Sunglac, then director of the National Security Office at the Blue House, Kim Yongbeom, then policy chief, and Han Seongsook, then minister of SMEs and Startups.

The file reportedly contained the Korean and English names, affiliations and titles, dates of birth, passport numbers, and passport issuance and expiration dates of 168 people in total, including Blue House and Foreign Ministry employees, Presidential Security Service bodyguards, and reporters assigned to the Blue House. The file had been exposed since June 2, before the trip, but access to it is now blocked.

The Blue House said on November 2, "We took responsive measures after becoming aware of the reports in advance," adding that the Foreign Ministry and other agencies would take further action.

An official from the National Police Agency said, "We are examining every possibility regarding how the information was leaked."

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