Korea Electric Power Corporation [Yonhap]
Korea Electric Power Corporation [Yonhap]

Korea Electric Power Corporation has suffered a personal data breach affecting more than 24,000 employees, following a series of similar incidents in the financial sector. Customer data has not been compromised, the company said.

Korea Electric Power Corporation said in a statement Sunday that it became aware of the exposure at around 3:59 p.m. Thursday, when employee personal information was found on an external webpage.

The names, departments and phone numbers of more than 24,000 employees were exposed. Unique identification numbers such as resident registration numbers, as well as other sensitive personal information, were not among the leaked data, the company said.

Upon discovering the breach, the company immediately blocked internal system access related to employee personal information and requested that the webpage operator remove the data.

The exposed information was deleted around midnight Friday — roughly 32 hours after the company first became aware of the breach.

Korea Electric Power Corporation has since set up an emergency response center and is coordinating with relevant authorities.

The company also notified affected employees via text message and email, explaining how the breach occurred and providing guidance on steps to prevent further harm.

"If damage has occurred or is anticipated and a report is filed, we will conduct the necessary investigation and proceed with relief measures including compensation," a company official said, adding that the firm would thoroughly examine the cause of the exposure and implement measures to prevent a recurrence.

Customer information was confirmed to be unaffected by the breach.

"Customer data other than employee information is managed separately and securely in a dedicated system," the official said.


ko@heraldcorp.com