“Gangnam Unni” data leak

Gangnam Unni emerged as a gateway to K-beauty, offering reviews of skin treatments and cosmetic surgery alongside information about hospitals. About 9.5 million people around the world have registered for the platform.

Recently, personal information belonging to roughly 220,000 users was leaked. The exposed material included names, contact details and dates of birth, but also the procedures users had asked about, the names of doctors and hospitals, uploaded photographs, and the actual treatment details and dates. Payment information was also included.

Medical information is among the most sensitive forms of personal data, precisely the kind of information people are most reluctant to have exposed.

The article points to another major breach last January at Duo Information, the country’s leading matchmaking company. Data from 430,000 members was leaked, including resident registration numbers and telephone numbers, as well as physical information such as height, weight and blood type. A Personal Information Protection Commission investigation found that at least 24 categories of data had been exposed, including education, employer, hiring date, first or remarriage status, religion, hobbies and whether someone was the eldest son or daughter.

It describes the scope of the leaks as information that even family members may not know in such detail, warning of the consequences if someone deliberately exploited it.