Prime Minister nominee Han Seong-sook (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald) Han Seong-sook, prime minister nominee and current SMEs and Startups minister, apologized for the data leak involving some 5,000 participants in the ministry's flagship startup contest."I sincerely apologize to all participants who suffered discomfort due to the personal information leak," Han told reporters on her way to the office in Seoul to prepare for the confirmation hearing."We failed to live up to the trust of citizens who believed in the government and participated in the contest. As the minister in charge, I feel a deep and heavy sense of responsibility and offer my deepest apology."The startup project was launched under Han to raise awareness of entrepreneurship and ultimately address South Korea's economic bipolarization. Instead, the initiative has become an obstacle for the PM nominee as she prepares for the confirmation hearing later this week.Plans to hold state-sponsored nationwide startup contests, unveiled in January by the Lee administration, sought to provide support to and encourage aspiring entrepreneurs. The final contest winners would be eligible for state funding and more private-sector venture investment.However, earlier last week, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups revealed a hacking attack targeting a partner outsourced for the project had exposed the data of some 5,000 contestants.Leaked data included contestants' personal information such as email addresses, summaries of contestants' business ideas, and judges' evaluations of each idea, according to the ministry.The government said it had notified all contestants of the data leak on Thursday.Han's apology came ahead of a two-day confirmation hearing set to be held by parliament later this week, starting Thursday.Rep. Kang Seung-kyoo of the main opposition People Power Party, who is a member of the special committee for the confirmation hearing, called on Lee to cancel Han's nomination."The Lee Jae Myung administration imposed a record-breaking fine of 624.7 billion won for Coupang's consumer information leak incident," Kang said in his briefing at the National Assembly on Monday."Following a personal information leak that included the valuable startup ideas of thousands of young people, nominee Han offered a meaningless apology this morning in the form of a doorstepping. ... The challenges of young people driven by their blood, sweat and tears have been tainted by a hasty push to sugarcoat the prime minister nominee’s credentials.Among the points of contention concerning Han's nomination are the data leak controversy of her ministry, as well as the fact that she owns multiple homes. The liberal administration has long blamed speculative buying of houses for the country's economic bipolarization.Han did not comment on her homes in her appearance to the media Monday.If Lee's plan to nominate Han gets parliamentary approval, following the confirmation hearing, Han would become South Korea's second-ever female prime minister since Han Myeong-sook, who served in the post from 2006-2007.