SEOUL — Shinsegae Group, one of South Korea’s largest retail giants, has confirmed a significant data breach involving the personal information of approximately 80,000 individuals, including current employees and staff from partner companies. While the company reassured the public that customer data remains secure, the incident has raised alarms regarding the cybersecurity protocols of major corporate intranets.

According to a statement released by Shinsegae on December 26, the breach occurred within the group’s internal intranet system. The leaked information includes employee identification numbers, full names, departmental affiliations, and Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. The affected parties primarily consist of staff from major affiliates, such as Shinsegae Department Store and E-mart, as well as workers from subcontracted firms associated with Shinsegae I&C, the group’s information technology arm.

The company clarified that the breach appears to have been caused by a malware infection. However, investigations are still ongoing to determine whether the incident was the result of a targeted external cyberattack, internal negligence, or a malicious insider. "We have confirmed the circumstances under which employee IDs were leaked to an external source," a Shinsegae official stated. "Fortunately, our customer databases are managed on separate systems and were not compromised."

Shinsegae I&C, which manages the group’s digital infrastructure, discovered the breach on December 24. Following the discovery, the IT unit immediately initiated emergency security protocols, including system audits and account freezes, to mitigate further damage. The group officially reported the incident to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) two days later, on December 26.

In an internal notice, Shinsegae advised all employees to change their passwords immediately and exercise extreme caution when handling suspicious emails. The group is currently working with relevant authorities and security experts to identify the exact scope of the impact and the origin of the malware.

"We are conducting a thorough investigation into the root cause of this incident," the company spokesperson added. "Shinsegae is committed to fundamentally strengthening our security management systems to ensure that such a breach does not recur in the future."

This incident highlights the growing vulnerability of corporate intranets to sophisticated malware, even within conglomerates that invest heavily in IT infrastructure. As the investigation continues, industry experts are calling for more proactive monitoring and faster disclosure timelines for large-scale data breaches.