Presidential Couple's Passport Numbers Exposed in Air Force One Passenger Data Leak

[Anchor]

It has been revealed that a file containing personal information, including the dates of birth and passport numbers of President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung, was exposed in its entirety on an internet website. The file is presumed to be a manifest of passengers who boarded the presidential aircraft, Air Force One. Cheong Wa Dae has requested a police investigation, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also launched an internal probe.

Kang Min-u reports.

[Reporter]

This is a paid website that scans files and data for malicious code.

In June, a file containing the dates of birth, passport numbers, and other details of President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung was reportedly uploaded to this site.

The file reportedly contained personal information of 168 people in total, including senior government and Cheong Wa Dae officials such as Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, as well as staff from the Office of the President and reporters covering Cheong Wa Dae.

The list is presumed to be the manifest of those who boarded the presidential plane, Air Force One, when President Lee traveled on a 10-day, nine-night tour of three European nations to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit in June.

The file reportedly contained not only the passengers' passport numbers, but also their passport issuance and expiration dates.

Cheong Wa Dae released an official statement saying that it was already aware of the situation and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant agencies plan to take further measures.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said the file uploaded to the website appeared to be in a format used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that a request for an investigation has been submitted to the police.

Cheong Wa Dae has also reportedly begun the process of reissuing passports for the staff members who were on board at the time.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it views this matter with grave seriousness and is conducting a multifaceted investigation into how the leak occurred.

It added that necessary actions will be taken in accordance with the findings of the investigation.

Video by Ju Yong-jin | Video Editing by Jeon Min-gyu
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.