Some records allegedly include addresses, phone numbers, and resident registration numbers.
Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon issues a sincere apology, promising to reinforce information security systems.

SEOUL — Yoido Full Gospel Church, one of South Korea's largest megachurches, has confirmed that an internal data analysis suggests personal information belonging to approximately 850,000 church members may have been compromised following a recent cyberattack.

In an official press release issued on April 7, the church stated, "Immediately after being notified by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) yesterday afternoon about signs of a security breach in our information systems, we launched an emergency security audit and analyzed potential leakage logs with an external security specialist firm."

The church explained that out of seven categories of data flagged for potential exposure, six—including parish transfer histories, clerical appointment records, and baptismal records—contained no personal information. However, it confirmed that one category tracking member information changes contained limited personal data.

This specific change-history file includes the names and dates of birth of 850,000 individuals, along with modification logs. Among these are 2,629 instances of resident registration number updates, 3,964 phone number updates, and 7,202 address updates, according to the church.

Other historical records, such as past donation data, contained only transaction slips, amounts, and descriptions, without names or other identifying personal details.

Yoido Full Gospel Church stated, "We are currently notifying affected members of the data leak in accordance with relevant laws and procedures." Additional emergency countermeasures were implemented at 1:00 AM today, including blocking external network access and resetting server passwords.

Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon expressed deep remorse over the incident. "The responsibility to safely manage and protect our members' precious personal information rests entirely with the church," Pastor Lee said. "As the senior pastor, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility and sincerely apologize for causing concern to our members."

He added, "We are taking this matter with the utmost gravity. While actively cooperating with the investigation and verification procedures of relevant authorities, we will take all necessary measures—including thoroughly reinforcing our information security systems—to ensure that an incident like this never happens again."

Prior to the church's announcement, cybersecurity firm Oasis Security reported identifying large-scale information belonging to members of two major domestic churches on an overseas attacker's server. Alongside Yoido Full Gospel Church, Sarang Community Church located in Seocho-gu, Seoul, was also targeted in the hacking incident.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]