PPP-info leak

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday criticized the presidential office over the leak of personal information of President Lee Jae Myung and other key government officials, calling it a "security disaster."

The criticism came amid news reports that a computer file containing 168 individuals, including Lee, his wife and staff members of an entourage that accompanied Lee on an overseas trip in June, had been uploaded to a publicly accessible website that month.

"The data leak of key information related to a presidential overseas trip to the public amounts to a security disaster akin to leaving the door wide open to an enemy or a terrorist group," PPP spokesperson Cho Yong-sool said in a commentary.

"What is more concerning is that the identities of security personnel, medical staff and aides assisting the president were also exposed," he added.

Cho called on Lee to issue an apology for the presidential office's "lax discipline," stressing the need to hold those responsible accountable.

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok joined the criticism, reiterating Lee's earlier remarks that penalties for personal data breaches should be tough enough so that companies fear being run out of business.

"It is now the presidential office's turn to go down?" he wrote on Facebook.

Meanwhile, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) accused the PPP of politicizing the data leak, urging it to refrain from fueling public anxiety over unverified allegations.

"The government immediately deleted the information posted on the website and took proactive measures to prevent further damage, including checking whether additional data has been leaked," DP floor spokesperson Lee Ju-hee said in a written press briefing.

"For the PPP to be a responsible opposition party, it should stop turning everything into a political issue and fueling public anxiety, but rather wait for the results of the government investigation and support measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again," she added.

Cheong Wa Dae said it has taken necessary measures after becoming aware of the data leak, while police have launched a formal investigation into the incident.

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