Over 6,500 Express Intent to Join Class Action as of the Afternoon of the 23rd
Doul Law Firm: "Participation Possible Even Without Financial Loss"
Assemblyman Lee Hakyoung Sponsors Class Action Bill on Same Day
The movement for a class action lawsuit by victims is gaining momentum following the Lotte Card hacking incident, which resulted in the leakage of personal information of 2.97 million members. Currently, Dowool, a law firm highly likely to handle the class action, has proposed a maximum compensation of 500,000 won per person.
According to the “Lotte Card Personal Information Leak Class Action Caf?,” a group formed by Lotte Card hacking victims, as of 3:00 p.m. on the 23rd, 6,450 people had expressed their intention to participate in the class action lawsuit.
Cho Jwajin, CEO of Lotte Card, is speaking at the "Lotte Card Personal Information Leak Incident, Victim Protection Measures and Recurrence Prevention Countermeasures Meeting" hosted by the People Power Party at the National Assembly on the 23rd. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
The caf? administrators recommended Dowool, located in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, as the law firm to handle the class action. Dowool is one of about ten law firms currently involved in class action lawsuits related to the SK Telecom USIM hacking incident.
Dowool is currently posting a notice on its website encouraging participation in the class action and is accepting applications for the lawsuit. The participation fee is 20,000 won per person (including the initial retainer for the first trial, VAT, stamp tax, and delivery fees). If the lawsuit is successful, the contingency fee is set at 9% of the awarded amount. The class action caf? administrators explained, “Several law firms have expressed their intention to participate in the class action,” and added, “We recommended Dowool after considering its experience with class actions, its approach to this case, and its expertise.”
Dowool plans to claim 300,000 won per person in damages if only personal information was leaked, and 500,000 won per person if credit information such as card numbers was also leaked. If all 2.97 million people whose information was compromised by the hacking participate and win the lawsuit, the total compensation could reach up to 1.5 trillion won. A Dowool representative stated, “Lotte Card was also responsible for a personal information leak involving about 20 million cases in 2014, so its responsibility in this incident is significant,” and added, “Since this lawsuit is based on the mere fact of personal and credit information leakage, victims can participate even if they did not suffer any direct financial loss.”
Meanwhile, on this day, Lee Hakyoung, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, sponsored the Consumer Class Action Act to protect the rights and interests of the public from repeated large-scale consumer damages. The bill allows consumer organizations that meet the requirements under the Framework Act on Consumers, the Korea Consumer Agency, and financially capable nonprofit private organizations to act as plaintiffs and lead lawsuits. Assemblyman Lee stated, “Incidents in which large numbers of consumers are harmed are occurring almost daily,” and explained, “It is difficult for individual consumers to file lawsuits against large corporations or to prove damages, which is why I sponsored this bill.”
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