The Personal Information Protection Commission and relevant authorities are looking into a suspected data leak at "Sengakhan Hwangso," a mathematics academy operating around 80 branches nationwide, including the Daechi-dong neighborhood in Gangnam, Seoul.
Sengakhan Hwangso announced to parents and others yesterday (September 17) that it "confirmed an intrusion by an unidentified hacker on its test reservation website."
The academy stated, "Given that the hacker notified us they were 'securing all data,' there is a high possibility that the personal information of all parents and students who registered for tests through this site has been leaked."
Personal information registered on the test reservation website included students' names, schools, grades, dates of birth, and parents' phone numbers.
Sengakhan Hwangso explained that it has temporarily closed the test reservation website and reported the data leak to relevant authorities.
The academy added that it is also preparing materials to request a police investigation.
A representative for Sengakhan Hwangso stated, "We deeply apologize for causing concern with this incident," adding, "We will resume operations of the test reservation website after completing all measures to prevent a recurrence."
According to the Personal Information Protection Commission, Sengakhan Hwangso reported the data breach damage at around 9 p.m. last night.
An official from the Personal Information Protection Commission said, "We are currently verifying the facts, including whether there were any violations, and plan to determine the timing of future investigations based on this."
Sengakhan Hwangso is a specialized advanced mathematics academy famous for its curriculum that covers three years of middle school mathematics in just 13 months, targeting prospective 4th through 6th graders in elementary school.
(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Yu-jin | Design by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News | Image source: Sengakhan Hwangso website)
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