Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister of SMEs and Startups, briefs reporters at the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Monday about the personal data leak from the Modu-ui Changup platform. [Yonhap]
Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister of SMEs and Startups, briefs reporters at the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Monday about the personal data leak from the Modu-ui Changup platform. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Monday it has referred the personal data leak from the "Modu-ui Changup" startup platform to police for investigation. The ministry also said it will support all program finalists in registering their business ideas as certified trade secrets to guard against potential idea theft.

First Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok held a briefing at the Government Seoul Building that afternoon, saying the ministry is conducting a detailed investigation in cooperation with the National Cyber Security Center.

Noh said there had been no unauthorized access to the database containing finalists' information from last week's incident, and that some data was exposed after finalist profile pages were opened.

According to the ministry, personal information such as resident registration numbers and contact details, as well as detailed application forms, were not exposed. However, idea summaries and evaluation comments were leaked in encrypted form.

Incident classified as hacking; AI firm under investigation for alleged leak

The ministry said the encrypted data was leaked through abnormal application programming interface (API) calls. Regarding the AI solutions company identified as the suspected source of the leak, Noh said the firm claims it used only publicly available information, and that the ministry plans to hold it legally accountable if the investigation confirms the charges.

Asked whether the ministry had failed to anticipate that the AI solutions provider might leak personal data, Noh said the ministry had reviewed only quality, versatility and price when selecting the vendor, and had not assessed whether the company might misuse the information. "In that regard, I think there was ultimately a problem," he said.

Noh asked the public to understand the incident as a case in which an unauthorized party used AI tools to abnormally extract encrypted data. He said the relevant authorities regard the incident as hacking, given that abnormal back-end API calls can be considered a form of hacking, though he noted the investigation results are still pending.

Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister of SMEs and Startups, apologizes at the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Monday over the personal data leak from the Modu-ui Changup platform. [Yonhap]
Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister of SMEs and Startups, apologizes at the Government Seoul Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Monday over the personal data leak from the Modu-ui Changup platform. [Yonhap]

Ministry to provide free trade secret registration for all 5,000 finalists

On protecting finalists' ideas, Noh said the ministry will "actively utilize every available means under the current system," and will work with the Intellectual Property Office to provide all 5,000 finalists with free registration of their submitted applications as certified trade secrets.

"The government will jointly verify that the applications submitted to Modu-ui Changup are the participants' own startup ideas," Noh added. The ministry also said it will offer one-on-one consultations with more than 20 intellectual property and patent attorneys affiliated with its Startup One-Stop Support Center.

In addition, the ministry plans to hold idea-protection matching events in all 17 cities and provinces in July, with attorneys traveling directly to each region. Follow-up consultations through an online channel will also be available for participants who need further protection measures.

On concerns about additional harm from policy brokers, Noh said the ministry is pursuing various investigations and legal frameworks to address improper third-party interference, and pledged to prevent the leaked information from being exploited for brokerage activities.

The ministry plans to conduct a security audit through an external specialist firm and establish and implement enhanced security measures. It will also create a dedicated data leak response team within the Korea Startup Promotion Agency. The ministry said it will review complaints received at the damage reporting center and oversee the full process — from the incident investigation to victim support and recurrence prevention.

Launch of Modu-ui Changup's second cohort likely to be delayed

Noh apologized for the inconvenience caused by the platform leak, saying the ministry had failed to protect public trust in the government. He pledged to make victim relief, recurrence prevention and a thorough investigation the top priorities.

The second phase of the Modu-ui Changup project, scheduled for early next month, is also expected to be postponed. Noh said restoring trust through improved security comes first, and that the ministry plans to adjust the timing of the second cohort's launch.


boo@heraldcorp.com