"Startup for all," a flagship policy of the "national startup era" championed by the Lee Jae-myung administration, ran into trouble three months after its launch with leaks of personal data and startup idea information.
Designed so anyone with an idea can try launching a business, the nationwide startup platform Startup for All drew high interest and succeeded commercially, but just as it should be focusing on commercializing startup ideas and market validation, it has been saddled with the task of fixing security problems.
About 63,000 people took part in Startup for All, a nationwide public startup audition program by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups that began in March this year, marking a successful run. It was the first time the government ran a nationwide program where anyone could propose a startup idea and have it connected to commercialization.
In particular, it sought to differentiate itself from existing startup support programs by consolidating AI solution corporations with participants to flesh out business ideas and support everything from marketability verification to commercialization. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) planned to select 5,000 participants in the first round after screening last month and move into full-fledged business advancement with mentoring and funding support.
However, the project hit an unexpected snag when some successful applicants' information was recently exposed. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), after the successful applicants' profile pages were made public, some information was exposed externally during the system consolidation process. Sensitive personal information such as resident registration numbers, contact details, or detailed business plans was not included, but some information—including emails, idea summaries, and evaluation comments—was exposed in encrypted form.
The incident went beyond a simple personal data issue and raised concerns about protecting startup ideas. Because the ideas submitted by participants are the core asset of the project, ensuring the credibility of the government-led startup support platform has emerged as a key task.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) offered an official apology on the morning of the 22nd for the leak of participants' personal information and startup idea-related data. Han has pushed Startup for All as a core policy and, based on related results, was nominated as prime minister on the 7th.
At 2 p.m. that day, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) held a briefing chaired by Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok and announced measures to handle the incident and prevent a recurrence. "We are currently investigating the cause of the incident with the National Cyber Security Center and have asked the Korean National Police Agency to investigate," Noh said, adding, "We will disclose the findings transparently as soon as they are available."
To protect participants' ideas, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will provide free registration of "trade secret original verification" for the challenge applications submitted by all 5,000 participants. It also plans to offer one year of free technology escrow services to participants who register as businesses in the future to help prove they are the original creators of the ideas.
In addition, in connection with the Startup One-Stop Support Center, it will provide one-on-one consultations with experts in patents and intellectual property and push comprehensive security inspections and system improvements through external specialized institutions.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) decided to proceed with the second Startup for All project, originally scheduled to begin in July, after overhauling the security system.
The government views this project not as a simple startup support program but as a foundational project for the "national startup era," where anyone can try launching a business with just an idea. Accordingly, quickly managing the fallout from this incident and restoring trust in the platform is cited as a key task that will determine the success or failure of the project going forward.
A Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) official said, "We will use this incident as an opportunity to further strengthen the security system and build denser safeguards for idea protection," adding, "We will create an environment in which the public's creative ideas can safely lead to startups and realize the national startup era."