Introduction of Class Action System Currently Limited to Securities Sector
Collective Damage Relief Methods Should Also Be Established in IT Sector
Lee Yong-bin "Legal Measures Needed for Personal Information Leakage, etc."
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] In the wake of the Kakao incident, legislation is being pursued to establish a legal basis for class-action lawsuits in cases where personal information is leaked or damages are incurred. This comes in response to concerns that it is inappropriate for ordinary citizens affected by nationwide service disruptions to take legal action when large-scale service failures disrupt daily life.
On the 20th, Lee Yong-bin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, will propose the "Personal Information-Related Class Action Act," which aims to provide relief for collective damages caused by personal information leaks in the field of information and communication networks.
Currently, South Korea has introduced a class-action system only in the securities sector. As a result, effective relief is not possible even when collective damages occur in other fields. The class-action system allows one or some of the victims to sue the perpetrator, and other victims can receive relief through that judgment without filing separate lawsuits.
Accordingly, the law aims to allow class-action lawsuits in the information and communication network sector, which has recently faced issues. Following a fire at the data center housing Kakao's IT facilities, those affected by service disruptions are preparing to respond with lawsuits and other measures.
The bill defines class-action targets in the information and communication network sector as cases where personal information is lost, stolen, leaked, or damaged due to the intentional or negligent acts of the personal information handler. The group of victims must consist of at least 50 people.
Rep. Lee stated, "As seen in the recent Kakao outage incident, demands for recurrence prevention and compensation measures are pouring in, but the government and companies are likely to engage in disputes and conflicts over liability based on their own interests." He added, "There is a deep concern that essential discussions based on consumer sovereignty will be pushed to the back burner." He further emphasized, "Especially regarding personal information leaks, it is necessary to establish a legal mechanism such as class-action lawsuits to create relief measures that meet the public’s expectations."
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