Hope Bridge Nationwide Disaster Relief Association and Community Chest of Korea's Fruit of Love, the country's largest statutory fundraising organizations, have consecutively experienced incidents in which the personal information of high-value donors was leaked. With personal information of roughly 1,600 people leaked in total, a significant number of famous entertainers are among the victims, causing regret.
On the 6th, Hope Bridge Nationwide Disaster Relief Association (hereinafter Hope Bridge) and Community Chest of Korea Fruit of Love (hereinafter Fruit of Love) each notified on their official websites that personal information of some high-value donors had been leaked during certain periods.
First, Hope Bridge, while publishing settlement of account data from 2022 to 2024 between the 5th and the 25th of last month, disclosed as attached files the names, resident registration numbers and donation amounts of donors who gave 20 million won or more without being de-identified. Hope Bridge confirmed this on the morning of the 25th of last month and made the files private at about 3:54 p.m. the same day, and then deleted them. However, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety reports that more than 1,000 donors' information was leaked as a result.
Meanwhile, Fruit of Love posted its 2024 settlement of account data on its website around April of last year. During the same period, the names, resident registration numbers and donation amounts of donors who gave 20 million won or more were likewise published as attached files without being de-identified, and Fruit of Love only became aware of this and removed the files from its website on the evening of the 5th, 11 months after the publication. The people whose information was disclosed through the file were identified as 647.
Donations made in good faith by donors have resulted in personal information leaks. Moreover, it is reported that the lists included many famous entertainers, which adds to the regret.
In particular, from 2022 to 2024, the period when Hope Bridge's data was leaked, nationwide disasters led to a relay of large donations from celebrities. In 2022, the year began with wildfires in Uljin on the East Coast, followed in the summer by large-scale flood victims from heavy rains, and in the fall by Typhoon Hinnamnor striking the displaced people. In the following year, 2023, international donations poured in for the casualties from the Turkey-Syria earthquake and wildfires around the Gangneung area also hit the country hard.
Even more, both Hope Bridge and Fruit of Love experienced personal information leaks in 2024, the year that saw the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster at Muhan Airport at year-end, which prompted donations across the country. While famous entertainers saw programs canceled or filming called off and concerts and award shows canceled or postponed, they participated in donation and fundraising efforts to share and help overcome the public's pain.
There are numerous stars who consistently performed good deeds during these nationwide disasters. Actors Kim Go-eun, Kim Dong-wook, Kim Woo-bin, Kim Hye-soo, Park Minyoung, Park Boyoung, Park Shin-hye, Suzy, Son Ye-jin, Song Kang-ho, Shin Mina, Yoon Jeong-hee, Lee Byung-hun, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Je-hoon, Lee Jong-suk, Yim Siwan, Cho Byeong-kyu, Jun Ji-hyun, Jung Woosung, Han Hyojoo and Hyunbin each donated large sums ranging from 50 million won to 100 million won to relief for those disasters. Even the late Lee Soon-jae joined the Honor Society, a Fruit of Love group for donors of more than 100 million won, during that period.
In addition, idol group Girls' Generation member YoonA, who is active as both a singer and actor, and 2PM's Lee Jun-ho were also listed among high-value donors during the same period, and singers Kim Hee-jae, Psy, Le Chanwon and Lim Young-woong donated either individually or in the names of their fan clubs or agencies. Notably, Lim Young-woong's cumulative donations to Fruit of Love in 2024 alone amounted to 1.2 billion won. Idol group members have also performed birthday donation drives with fans; among them, TWICE's Nayeon, who became the first Honor Society member during the period, as well as NCT's Doyoung, TXT's Taehyun and BTS's Suga were listed as large donors.
Former figure skater Kim Yuna and broadcasters Yu Jae-seok, Seo Jang-hoon and Jun Hyun-moo also donated large sums to Hope Bridge and Fruit of Love during the period. Given the many publicized stars who participated in disaster relief, it is all the more regrettable that the personal information of lesser-known high-value donors and other donors who have performed good deeds was leaked. As both organizations are among the largest statutory fundraising groups, concerns about the ongoing impact persist.
[photo] OSEN DB.
[OSEN]