Startup platform skipped all mandatory security checks, lawmaker says

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups' "Modoo's Startup" platform, which leaked the personal information and business ideas of young entrepreneurs, was found to have skipped all mandatory information security procedures.

According to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Koo Ja-keun, the ministry responded Thursday to a request for documentation on its compliance with relevant guidelines — submitted June 18 — by saying it had "requested a legal interpretation of whether the Modoo's Startup platform falls under the applicable guidelines."

Under the Ministry of Interior and Safety's guidelines on the construction and operation of information systems at administrative and public institutions, heads of such agencies must carry out a series of mandatory security procedures when building or operating an information system. These include security reviews, system audits, system rating and management, application of software development security standards, and vulnerability assessments.

"The ministry neglected to confirm and fulfill the mandatory security procedures in advance, and only moved to check whether the guidelines applied after the data breach occurred and after our office submitted its inquiry," Koo said.

The Interior Ministry has already confirmed that the Modoo's Startup platform falls under its guidelines on information systems at administrative and public institutions. The SMEs Ministry collected the startup ideas and personal information of more than 60,000 people through the public audition program without fulfilling any of the required data protection procedures.

Opposition lawmakers have noted that the project was not included in the government's original 2026 budget and was rushed into implementation without adequate preparation or vetting following a directive from President Lee Jae-myung, drawing criticism over sloppy administration from the outset.

As calls for accountability over the project's management grow, scrutiny has also fallen on Han Sung-sook, the prime minister nominee who oversaw the project as SMEs minister. According to Koo's office, a senior ministry official was also reported to have said that "there were internal concerns about side effects as the Modoo's Startup project was pushed through hastily."

"Tens of thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs trusted the government and submitted their startup ideas and personal information — the product of a lifetime of effort and ambition — only to suffer harm from government incompetence and mismanagement," Koo said. "Given that private companies have faced heavy penalties of hundreds of billions of won for data breaches, the government must be held to an even stricter standard for its own management failures and procedural violations."