The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has officially apologized for a data breach involving participants in its "Startup for All" program.
In a statement released on June 19 by spokesperson Kim Ji-hyun, the ministry expressed, "We deeply apologize for causing concern to the public and participants due to the personal information leak from the Startup for All platform."
The ministry acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, stating, "We are taking this matter very seriously and are implementing necessary measures without delay to prevent further damage, swiftly address the incident, and ensure stable operations of the program."
Kim outlined plans for future measures, saying, "To manage the Startup for All project more responsibly and systematically, we will hold regular review meetings chaired by Deputy Minister Noh Yong-seok. Starting with a kickoff meeting on June 21, we will continuously monitor the situation regarding the data breach, platform operations, key issues, and future improvements."
The review meetings will include relevant departments from the Ministry of SMEs and the Korea Startup Promotion Agency, the program's organizing body. The ministry plans to hold a briefing on June 22 to disclose specific measures.
Kim concluded by reiterating, "We sincerely apologize once again for the inconvenience and concern caused, and we will do our utmost to address the incident and ensure the stable operation of the Startup for All project."
Earlier, on June 15, just one day before the launch event for the first cohort of the Startup for All program, personal information of 5,000 participants was leaked. The leaked data included email addresses, startup ideas, and evaluation comments on those ideas.
The Korea Startup Promotion Agency notified the affected participants individually around noon on June 18 and also issued an apology on its website regarding the data breach.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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