AI-linked hack may have exposed personal data of 850,000 megachurch members in South Korea

Oasis Security traced data from suspected cyber intrusions on Seoul’s Yoido Full Gospel Church and SaRang Church to a server outside South Korea, revealing that the attacks may have exposed information for roughly 850,000 Yoido members and about 89,000 SaRang congregants plus 286 staff. The compromised data includes names, birth dates and, in many cases, phone numbers, addresses and resident registration numbers, which are used for identity verification in the country.

Yoido’s senior pastor Lee Young-hoon expressed responsibility, apologized to members and said the church has blocked outside access, changed passwords, begun notifying affected individuals and will install a new firewall and hire additional security firms. SaRang Church has formed an emergency response team, reported the breach to authorities and is investigating the August-time intrusion. Neither organization knows the exact method of entry, though logs suggest the use of AI-driven “sub-agents,” and the broader context includes recent AI-suspected hacks of South Korean banks such as Shinhan Bank. President Lee Jae Myung has highlighted the growing AI element in recent cyber incidents.