Shinhan Card reports massive data leak of merchant operators involving employee misconduct

Major card issuer Shinhan Card Co. said Tuesday there have been more than 190,000 suspected cases of partnered merchant operators' business and personal data being leaked, adding there is no concern that the information has been further disseminated. The company said it has reported the suspected breach to the Personal Information Protection Commission, noting that the incident was not caused by hacking and that the data was allegedly leaked by some employees for use in new card solicitations. According to Shinhan Card, the leaked information includes mobile phone numbers, names and dates of birth of merchant representatives. The company said that no sensitive personal data, such as resident registration numbers, card numbers or bank account information, has been leaked. It also stressed that the incident does not involve any personal data of general, individual customers. The company said the incident was linked to misconduct by employees who sought to boost their new card recruitment performance. At least 12 employees from five or more sales offices are believed to have been involved. Sh