Some SK Telecom subscribers won a lawsuit against SK Telecom in the second trial, demanding the cessation of pseudonymization of personal information.
The Seoul High Court Civil Division 7 (Presiding Judges Kang Seung-jun, Kim Min-ah, Yang Seok-yong) ruled on the 20th that the lawsuit filed by Mr. A and four others against SKT requesting suspension of processing was decided in favor of the plaintiffs, as in the first trial.
Pseudonymization refers to a measure that deletes or replaces part of personal information so that the individual cannot be identified without additional information. Telecommunication companies are allowed to process pseudonymized information without the consent of the data subject for purposes such as statistical compilation, scientific research, and public interest record preservation.
The second trial court judged that personal information processors like SKT must comply if the data subject requests the suspension of pseudonymization.
However, the second trial court stated, "SKT should not pseudonymize the plaintiffs' personal information for the purpose of 'use of personal information' under Article 28-2 of the Personal Information Protection Act," and judged that "pseudonymization stipulated in the Personal Information Protection Act and pseudonymization based on other laws have different purposes and scopes."
Earlier, the first trial broadly ruled beyond the scope of the claim, stating, "SKT should not pseudonymize the plaintiffs' personal information."
Civic groups such as People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy demanded the cessation of pseudonymization in October 2020, arguing that "telecommunication companies can freely use personal information by invoking pseudonymization."
However, SKT rejected the demands of civic groups, stating, "The rights to access and suspend processing of personal information are restricted for already pseudonymized information."
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