Sogang University data breach exposes 180,000 records — possibly including Park Geun-hye's

A data breach at Sogang University has exposed roughly 180,000 personal records belonging to current students, alumni and faculty.

The university announced Saturday that it had confirmed signs of a data leak from its integrated login system following an attack by an unidentified outside party.

The compromised information includes student and employee ID numbers, names, affiliations, email addresses, mobile phone numbers and encrypted unified passwords.

According to the university, the attack originated from an unauthorized overseas IP address on Tuesday.

Sogang said it became aware of the incident three days later, on Friday, and moved to block the attacking IP address, restrict access to the affected service and isolate the relevant network. The university also filed reports with the Personal Information Protection Commission and the Ministry of Education.

The university said it has completed emergency response measures and is auditing internal server vulnerabilities. It is also working with an outside cybersecurity firm to strengthen monitoring systems and prevent further damage.

Former President Park Geun-hye, who enrolled in the university's electronic engineering program in 1970, appears to have had her personal information exposed in the breach as well.

Sogang shared a web link on its homepage allowing individuals to check whether their data was affected. When Park's name and student ID number are entered, the site returns a message confirming that her personal information was among the items leaked.

Posts have also appeared on Sogang's online community from students who withdrew from the university or transferred from it, saying their personal information was likewise compromised.

Current students and alumni whose data was exposed reacted with anger.

A blogger identifying herself as a Sogang student said she was "truly embarrassed" that the university had come to public attention because of a data breach and strongly condemned the incident. "I found out through an Instagram post by a classmate," she said, urging the university to do more to notify affected individuals and prevent secondary harm.