Phone Returned After Screen Repair
1 Hour 9 Minutes Access Record Found in Photo Gallery
It has been revealed that a service center employee spent over an hour looking through a customer's phone photo album while repairing the device, sparking controversy. On the 6th, KBS reported the story of a woman in her 30s, Ms. A, who had entrusted her phone for repair at a domestic service center last month. Ms. A had taken her phone to the service center after the screen was damaged. After receiving the repaired phone, she noticed something unusual in the battery usage records on the device.
There was a record indicating access to the photo album and text messages during the repair period. Ms. A said, "At that time, the phone's touchpad was broken, so I was unable to access it that day," expressing her disbelief. Moreover, Ms. A's photo album contained personal information such as passport photos, financial transaction details, and even photos taken while undressing to check her diet progress. Ms. A demanded an explanation from the center.
It has been revealed that a service center employee spent over an hour looking through the photo gallery of a customer's mobile phone that was left for repair, causing controversy. [Photo by KBS News]
The center explained, "We don't know if it was out of curiosity or a mistake, but the repair technician briefly looked at the phone without any malicious intent while fixing it." However, the time spent viewing the photo album recorded on the phone was as long as 1 hour and 9 minutes. The time frame was also between 8 and 10 p.m., after the center had already closed. Ms. A repeatedly requested to review the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to clarify the facts.
Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the center later admitted, "The technician took the phone home and looked at the photo album for about 30 minutes," adding, "He was scared and couldn't say anything in advance." The center offered compensation by proposing to provide a new phone. Ms. A is suffering from severe mental distress. She said, "My biggest concern is the potential leakage," and added, "Because of various worries, I have trouble sleeping without medication these days."
The time spent looking through the photo album recorded on the phone was as long as 1 hour and 9 minutes. The time frame was also between 8 and 10 p.m., after the center's operating hours had already ended. [Photo by SBS News]
She also stated, "I do not need financial compensation," and demanded, "I want a public apology so that everyone knows, and for concrete measures to be put in place to prevent recurrence." The center responded, "Although this issue arose from an individual employee's misconduct, we acknowledge our management responsibility and apologize to the affected customer," and pledged, "We will do our best to protect customers, provide compensation, and prevent recurrence."
Meanwhile, peeking into someone else's phone can be punished under criminal law as a violation of privacy or under the Information and Communications Network Act. Article 316 of the Criminal Act of the Republic of Korea stipulates that anyone who uses technical means to open sealed letters or electronic records and learns their contents shall be punished by imprisonment for up to three years, imprisonment without prison labor, or a fine of up to 5 million won.
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