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Data of 192,000 Shinhan partnered merchants leaked

Published: 23 Dec. 2025, 14:59 Updated: 23 Dec. 2025, 19:41

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

A Shinhan Card office in Seoul is seen in this file photo [JOONGANG ILBO]

The personal information of 192,000 Shinhan partnered merchants, mostly phone numbers, was leaked, the financial company told customers on Tuesday.

The information leak was announced in a notice posted on Shinhan Card's website and mobile app. Shinhan Card has reported the breach to the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC).

Most of the leaks involved phone numbers, with a small number of instances in which numbers, names and dates of birth were leaked simultaneously. An internal investigation has yet to find cases in which additional personal information, including citizen registration numbers and credit information such as card numbers and account numbers, was leaked.

The 192,088 pieces of personal information leaked include 181,585 cases in which only mobile phone numbers were revealed, 8,120 cases in which mobile phone numbers and names were leaked, 2,310 cases in which mobile phone numbers, names, genders and dates of birth were leaked, and 73 cases in which mobile phone numbers, names and dates of birth were leaked.

Shinhan suspects that a company staff member leaked the information for sales purposes. The company stopped this upon notice and conducted an internal review, according to a statement.

The leak came to light when a whistleblower reported to the PIPC that the personal information of a partnered merchant representative had been leaked to an outside party.

"All Shinhan Card executives and employees feel a deep sense of responsibility for the significant concern and inconvenience caused to our customers due to this personal information leak," Shinhan said in its notice. "To ensure the utmost protection of personal information, we will thoroughly investigate the cause and circumstances of the leak, hold responsible employees accountable, and fundamentally review and strengthen our internal and external security systems."

The company promised to promptly verify the damage and provide compensation to any customer who observed damage caused by the leak.

Update, Dec. 23: Additional information on the circumstances of the leak and the types of information leaked added.

Update, Dec. 23: Cardholders revised to partnered merchants.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]