[Chosun Ilbo, October 8 2008] How Multimedia Changes Parliamentary Grillings

A parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Tuesday saw a public demonstration of how easily personal information stored in new electronic passports can be cracked.

Lawmaker Song Young-sun of the Pro-Park Geun-hye Alliance typed in her passport number into a chip-card reader which she had bought from the electronic market in Yongsan, Seoul for W200,000 (US$1=W1,329). A computer with a hacking program then showed her personal information, including a photo, on a screen via a projector.

Song said, "The personal information stored in the electronic passports, which is supposed to be read only by government-authorized chip-card readers, is easily accessed through any readers you can buy in the market."