Key facts
- South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups will offer trade secret certification to applicants of its startup programs.
- A data leak from the 'Startup for All' project website affected 5,000 individuals.
- Police have launched a preliminary investigation into the data leak.
- The breach involved unauthorized access to applicants' email addresses, startup ideas, and judges' evaluation comments.
- The Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) formally requested an investigation.
South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups will provide trade secret certification to applicants of its startup programs following a data leak that exposed the information of 5,000 individuals. The decision aims to protect intellectual property after the breach.
Police have launched a preliminary investigation into the incident, which originated from the government website for the 'Startup for All' project. The National Office of Investigation stated that the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency has opened a case. The leak came to light after an artificial intelligence solutions company supporting the program exploited a security vulnerability, gaining access to applicants' email addresses, summaries of their startup ideas, and judges' evaluation comments.
The Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED), under the startups ministry, announced the data leak on Monday and formally requested an investigation. Prime Minister nominee Han Seong-sook, the current minister of small and medium-sized enterprises and startups, apologized for the data leak on Monday.