On February 2, 2024, Kyonggi University received the first complaint that the personal information of students had been leaked. The range of the personal information leak dates from 2020 to 2021 and the sensitive information had been used for National Scholarship II recipients. In this Campus Issue, Pharos investigates what action the student council members In-yeon will take and examine how serious this situation is.
According to the Position Statement of the General Student Council on the Personal Information Disclosure Case, the first complaint was received on February 2, 2024. As soon as the complaint was received, the school judged that a leak had indeed occurred and quickly took steps to delete files and search pages through Google. As a result of checking whether files containing students’ personal information were transferred to other places, no evidence was found. They said that they are still monitoring to figure out if any students had been negatively affected. Therefore, the school is still looking for the origin of the leak and checking at the IT level because the file was leaked from a website. Right now, the university is unable to give out specific information regarding the leak, but they said they will release the details soon. The exposed personal information of students includes names, resident registration numbers, departments, student numbers, income quintiles, and whether they are recipients of welfare or living near poverty.
Pharos conducted an interview with Kyonggi University students who have experience applying for scholarships to see how they feel about the situation.
✔[Pharos] Q1: What kind of thoughts come to mind when you hear the news that the personal information of national scholarship recipients had been leaked?
⇨[Year3 Student Majoring in Police Administration] A1: When I heard the news, I thought that I cannot apply to the scholarship again with confidence.
⇨[Year4 Student Majoring in Civil Engineering] A1: I heard that sensitive information like resident registration numbers had been leaked. Moreover, I think it is ridiculous that personal information on national scholarships, which includes income quintile, had been leaked.
✔[Pharos] Q2: Regarding the current situation, what do you want the school to do?
⇨[Year3 Student Majoring in Police Administration] A2: We don’t know when this could happen again, so I want the school to take more care with IT files. Moreover, the school needs to take care of each student personally to prevent cases of theft from occurring.
⇨[Year4 Student Majoring in Civil Engineering] A2: First of all, the investigation must be transparent. In addition, the school needs to find out the origin of the leak and make sure that there are no consequences stemming from the leaked information. I believe that students whose personal information has been leaked deserve psychological compensation. Furthermore, the school needs a more thorough security system in order to prevent another occurrence.
This 2020-21 National Scholarship II students’ personal information leak is not just a simple accident. This case, in which the resident ID numbers, names, grades, majors, and income quintiles were fully disclosed without protection, is a serious matter that may lead to identity theft. In fact, in November 2023 in Ulsan, a stranger opened a new phone number with a leaked resident ID number and phone number. Against this backdrop, the most important thing for schools to do is to prevent a recurrence and provide a clear solution. To stop this from happening again, the school should establish an appropriate system and do its best to block additional damage from personal information leaks.
After hearing of this incident, the Kyonggi University student body immediately started to check the facts with the school. They issued a statement which said, “Regardless of the reason, the Kyonggi University student body cannot overlook the harm done to students due to the school’s mistake.” They added that they will strongly express students’ opinions and apposite measures to prevent a recurrence, and they will continue to communicate with the school to understand the specific circumstances of the incident. Also, the students whose personal information had been exposed declared that the school needs to take appropriate measures and resolve the problem as soon as possible. Kyonggi University posted a written apology regarding the personal information leak on the school website: “We have completed the construct of a system to prevent a recurrence, and we are in the process of security enhancement and technical protection measures to prevent secondary harm. If there is an auditory issue about the personal information leaking incident, please contact the incident reception counter.” Pharos hopes that this accident will be resolved at the earliest possible moment.
79th Reporter • NAM HYE SEUNG • namhyeseung50@gmail.com
81st Reporter • CHO SE RYOUNG • sceyesgaze@kyonggi.ac.kr
- TAG
-
Shall We Dance?
There are moments that you want to get away from. Sometimes life is overwhelming and you might think that you’re too fragile. Due to personal reasons, I felt like that while working on this issue. Although I felt helpless, somehow I got over it. You control your own life. Your society is where you belong. You should take responsibility for your life and society and take good care of yourself. What I tried not to forget is this quote by Viv...
[심층보도] 캠퍼스타운, 본교 발전의 초석 될까
[와이파이] 성인 엑스포, 단순 행사인가 유사 성매매인가
[방구석 시사회] ‘괴물 형사’ 마석도, 네 번째 진실의 방으로
[진리터] 우후죽순 발생하는 이슈, 관심으로 찾을 수 있는 권리
목록
