KCC Imposes 24.7 Million KRW Fine on EBS for Improperly Providing Personal Information to Sponsors

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] The Korea Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) was fined by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) for improperly providing personal information obtained during a broadcast to a sponsor without notifying viewers.

On the 23rd, the KCC held its 9th committee meeting and announced that it decided to impose a fine of 24.7 million KRW on EBS for violating the Broadcasting Act and ordered improvements in work procedures.

According to the KCC investigation, EBS signed a sponsorship contract on February 19, 2020, with a specific corporate insurance agency and Kiwoom Asset Planner to support the production costs of a total of 52 episodes of the insurance consultation program "Money Talk Show - Money Talk." They also signed a personal information processing consignment contract for telephone consultations and complaint handling related to the program. From April 27, 2020, to October 24, 2020, during the broadcast period, 2,101 telephone consultations were received through the call center, and 1,280 consultations were received via the website banner. The personal information of 3,381 viewers collected through these consultations was transferred to Kiwoom Asset Planner.

EBS guided viewers to believe that the consultation phone operated by Kiwoom Asset Planner was the EBS Money Talk call center run by the broadcaster, and did not obtain viewers' consent regarding the provision of their personal information to a specific insurance agency when applying for consultations.

The KCC judged this as an act of improperly providing viewer-related information obtained during the broadcasting service process to a third party, violating Article 85-2 (Prohibited Acts) Paragraph 1 Item 6 of the Broadcasting Act and Enforcement Decree Article 63-5 [Appendix 2-3] VI.1 of the same law.