Gangnam plastic surgery clinic patient photos and data leaked in extortion case
An internal server at a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam, Seoul, was hacked, exposing photographs of patients’ bodies, personal information, consultation details and anaesthesia records, which were used for extortion. The clinic said the hack occurred on 11 October and was discovered the following day. The extortionist demanded cryptocurrency worth 1 million won, threatening to distribute the photographs and other material, and a victim filed a criminal complaint against the clinic. The case was transferred to the cyber investigation unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and the full extent of the damage remains under investigation.
Key facts
- Affected organisation
- Being confirmed
- Incident type
- Data breach
- Occurred / detected
- 2026-10-11
- Scale of damage
- Leak of photographs of patients’ bodies, personal information, consultation details, anaesthesia records and other data; full extent under investigation
- Cause / method
- Hacking involving the insertion of malware into an internal computer server
- Location
- South Korea
If your data was exposed
Exposed dataNational ID numberHealth & medical data
- Don’t tap links in texts, calls or emails that mention this incident and offer compensation, refunds or breach checks. Check directly on the organisation’s official website or app.
- Block new mobile phone activations in your name, and register with the Financial Supervisory Service as a person whose personal data was exposed to strengthen identity checks on financial transactions in your name. If a copy of your ID was leaked, consider having it reissued.Identity theft prevention service (M-Safer) ↗Personal data exposure accident prevention system ↗
- If you’ve suffered harm, report it. Call 118 (no area code) for privacy violations, contact the police for financial losses, and apply for dispute mediation to seek compensation.Personal Information Infringement Report Centre ↗Korean National Police Agency cybercrime report ↗Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee ↗
Timeline
- The clinic reported a personal data breach during May; the exact date was not confirmed.
- The clinic also reported a personal data breach during August; the exact date was not confirmed.
- According to the clinic, its internal server was hacked.
- According to the clinic, it became aware of the hack.
- It was disclosed that the case involving threats to distribute patient photographs and a criminal complaint against the clinic alleging violations of the Personal Information Protection Act had been transferred to the cyber investigation unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
- It was disclosed that leaked consultation details, anaesthesia records and other data had been used to demand cryptocurrency through threats, and that a victim had filed a criminal complaint against the clinic.
7 related reports
The summary and key facts are written by AI from related reports and may contain errors. Check the original articles and the organisation’s official statements for accurate details.