'We take this incident seriously'

Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young (center) and others pose for a photo at the launch ceremony for the second cohort of the Modu-ui Changup entrepreneurship project, held at SVC in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Oct. 20. [Yonhap]
Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee So-young (center) and others pose for a photo at the launch ceremony for the second cohort of the Modu-ui Changup entrepreneurship project, held at SVC in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Oct. 20. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups apologized Saturday — three days after the incident — over a data breach that exposed the personal information of 818 participants in "Modu-ui Changup," a public entrepreneurship project. The ministry also pledged to strengthen privacy management and oversight of private-sector services linked to government support programs.

The ministry and its affiliated Korea Startup Promotion Agency posted an apology on the project's website Saturday, saying they were "sincerely sorry for the concern and inconvenience experienced by Modu-ui Changup participants."

The breach occurred Wednesday morning at one of the AI solution providers participating in the project. The ministry had maintained that the incident originated in an AI solution independently operated by a private company.

Following the breach, however, the project's online bulletin board was flooded with posts demanding government accountability and compensation for those affected. The ministry posted the apology Saturday afternoon, saying it would take responsible action as the program's operating authority to protect victims and prevent a recurrence.

The ministry pledged to "strengthen privacy management and oversight not only of systems directly operated by the government, but also of private-sector services linked to government support programs."

It added that it would swiftly confirm the full details of the incident and any necessary measures, and keep participants transparently informed of follow-up actions. "We will fulfill our responsibility to the end in protecting victims and taking necessary follow-up measures so that participants can take part in the program with peace of mind," the ministry said.


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