The South Korean government has taken action after it belatedly came to light that personal information belonging to President Lee Jae-myung and the first lady, Cabinet members, and Cheong Wa Dae officials was leaked in bulk on an internet website.

It was last June when a file titled "Passenger List (Republic of Korea-Belgium)" was posted on a paid security-related website, which was reported to contain the names and personal details of key government figures, including President Lee Jae-myung and the first lady, then-Chief of Staff for Policy Kim Yong-beom, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, current Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, and Cabinet ministers Bae Kyung-hoon, Cho Hyun, and Kim Sung-hwan.

The number of individuals whose information was exposed is reported to reach 168, including staff from Cheong Wa Dae and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, security agents from the Presidential Security Service, and journalists covering Cheong Wa Dae.

The disclosed personal data includes Korean and English names, affiliations, job titles, dates of birth, passport numbers, and passport issuance and expiration dates.

The website is known to be a paid platform that scans computer files or URLs to check whether they are infected with malware.

Under the circumstances, it is presumed that the file containing information on the entourage aboard Air Force One during the presidential tour of Belgium, Italy, and France last June was uploaded while checking for malware infection.

The file had been posted since June 2, before President Lee departed for the tour, and the government reportedly remained unaware of it until recently, leaving it unattended for five months.

Although access to the file has now been blocked, concerns have been raised that, given the prolonged exposure, the possibility of the data already having been exploited for crimes such as hacking cannot be ruled out.

Cheong Wa Dae stated, "We recognized the matter in advance and took countermeasures," adding, "Additional actions will be taken going forward by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "We take this matter very seriously, and we are currently conducting an in-depth investigation from various angles into the circumstances. We plan to take necessary measures according to the investigation results."

Reported by Son Hyeong-an | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Design by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News