[Digital Today, reporter Jin-ho Lee (이진호)] Compensation coupons will be issued to more than 4 million victims of a leak of member information from Seoul’s public bike-sharing service Ttareungi.

Seoul Facilities Corp said on Monday it will send individual text messages to those affected and provide a 30-day pass, a 1-hour use coupon worth 5,000 won.

The compensation coupon will be issued through the Ttareungi app next month. The validity period is within three months. Members who already have a pass can use it within three months after their existing pass expires.

Earlier, the Korea National Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Division confirmed that an external attack exploiting security vulnerabilities in the Ttareungi system occurred for 2 days from June 28, 2024. The corporation recently consulted with the police agency and the Personal Information Protection Commission to finalise the items leaked for each individual, and began sending individual text messages and posting notices on its website to about 4.62 million affected citizens.

The notice text message includes the items that were actually leaked, such as user ID, mobile phone number, date of birth, gender, weight, email address, address and a guardian’s mobile phone number, as well as the circumstances of the leak and guidelines to prevent harm.

After recognising the incident, the corporation activated an emergency response centre with Seoul city to fix the web vulnerability that caused it and strengthened monitoring for abnormal access.

The corporation said, "We once again deeply apologise for causing concern and inconvenience to citizens due to this personal information leak," and added, "We will do our utmost to fully overhaul the security system so that people can use Ttareungi with peace of mind."