Naver and Kakao have concluded that they cannot disclose the account information of the victims of the Jeju Air passenger plane crash at Muan International Airport.
According to industry sources on the 6th, Naver and Kakao have decided that they cannot provide the victims' account information and passwords to the bereaved families due to privacy policies and technical reasons.
Earlier, on the 3rd, the bereaved families requested the relevant authorities to disclose information about acquaintances left on KakaoTalk and other platforms used by the deceased to facilitate smooth funeral procedures. The Ministry of Science and ICT has been discussing with the service providers whether it is possible to provide information about the victims.
Naver stated that account passwords are encrypted in a way that cannot be decrypted (restoring encrypted information to its original form), so the company cannot know them.
Additionally, Naver added that account IDs and confidential information are defined as 'personal and non-transferable' information, and even if requested by the bereaved families, they do not provide such information.
However, Naver said that upon request from the bereaved families, they verify the relationship with the deceased and process membership withdrawal, and provide backup services for publicly available materials that can be accessed without logging in.
A Naver representative said, "We have thoroughly reviewed various ways to assist the bereaved families' requests, but there are legal and technical limitations, and concerns about side effects make it difficult to provide the information. We are also looking into additional support measures."
Kakao also stated that according to its privacy policy, it cannot provide the deceased's account information, including chat histories.
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