By Jun Ji-hye
Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) has begun procedures to take disciplinary action against one of its staffers for taking an unauthorized look at the personal information of RM, leader of the global K-pop sensation BTS.
The state-run railway operator said Thursday that the staffer checked RM's personal details, including his ticket information, address and mobile phone number, from the company's system 18 times in three years starting from 2019.
The staffer was in charge of IT development and had the authority to access customers' personal data.
KORAIL carried out an internal inspection after receiving reports that the staffer told her colleague that she was able to see RM in person after checking his travel information.
"The staffer said she had looked into RM's personal information out of pure curiosity as a fan," a KORAIL official said. "It has not been confirmed whether RM's personal details were leaked to others."
KORAIL removed the employee from her position and is taking steps toward disciplinary action.
The company is also working to improve its system to oblige its employees to provide a specific reason when they search for personal details of any of its customers.
While the story was trending, RM uploaded a screenshot of one of the news articles on his Instagram accompanied simply with an emoji of smiling eyes with two semicolons which is usually used to express embarrassment in Korea.
RM, known as a lover of art, has often shared photos of himself traveling by train to visit museums or galleries across the country.
RM's fans in online communities are expressing anger over the news, urging the singer's agency BigHit Music to take strong action to protect his privacy.
Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) has begun procedures to take disciplinary action against one of its staffers for taking an unauthorized look at the personal information of RM, leader of the global K-pop sensation BTS.
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| A screenshot from RM's Instagram account |
The staffer was in charge of IT development and had the authority to access customers' personal data.
KORAIL carried out an internal inspection after receiving reports that the staffer told her colleague that she was able to see RM in person after checking his travel information.
"The staffer said she had looked into RM's personal information out of pure curiosity as a fan," a KORAIL official said. "It has not been confirmed whether RM's personal details were leaked to others."
KORAIL removed the employee from her position and is taking steps toward disciplinary action.
The company is also working to improve its system to oblige its employees to provide a specific reason when they search for personal details of any of its customers.
While the story was trending, RM uploaded a screenshot of one of the news articles on his Instagram accompanied simply with an emoji of smiling eyes with two semicolons which is usually used to express embarrassment in Korea.
RM, known as a lover of art, has often shared photos of himself traveling by train to visit museums or galleries across the country.
RM's fans in online communities are expressing anger over the news, urging the singer's agency BigHit Music to take strong action to protect his privacy.
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