▲ Roh Yong-seok (L), 1st vice minister of small and medium-sized enterprises and startups, apologizes over a data leak from a government website for an audition-style startup incubation program at the government complex in central Seoul on June 22, 2026. (Yonhap)

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Police open preliminary probe into data leak from gov't website for startup program

SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- Police said Tuesday they have launched a preliminary investigation into a recent information leak from a government website for an audition-style startup incubation program.

The National Office of Investigation said the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency has opened a case into the leak from the "Startup for All" project website, which affected 5,000 people who passed the first round of the program.

The office made instructions to open an investigation Thursday when the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) under the startups ministry announced the data leak on the website.

The police also received a formal investigation request from KISED into the data leak Monday.

The breach came to light after an artificial intelligence solutions company in support of the program was found to have exploited a security vulnerability on the project's website, gaining access to applicants' email addresses, summaries of startup ideas and judges' evaluation comments.

On Monday, Prime Minister nominee Han Seong-sook, the incumbent minister of small and medium-sized enterprises and startups, apologized over the data leak.

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