Hongik University, Personal Data Files of 12,000 Students Leaked via Email

Citizens are walking in front of Hongik University in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

At Hongik University, a data breach occurred in which the personal information of approximately 12,000 students was leaked to other students.

On the 2nd, Hongik University sent an email containing personal information of 12,367 students?including current and on-leave students from the College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Campus Autonomous Major, College of Science and Technology, Department of Game, and graduate engineering programs?to 6,338 students who had not completed the required safety training for research activity personnel.

The leaked information included 10 items such as students’ campus and department names, student ID numbers, names, academic year, enrollment status, and email addresses.

The university later notified the affected students via email and issued an apology.

In its apology statement, the university explained, "Upon recognizing the breach on the 3rd, we immediately formed a personal information breach response team and conducted a thorough investigation according to procedures. To prevent further damage, we are recalling and deleting the sent emails. We will use this incident as an opportunity to raise awareness of personal information protection among all members handling personal data, improve the personal information management system, and make every effort to prevent similar incidents from recurring in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.