"SK Telecom Ordered to Pay 300,000 Won per Person for Personal Information Leak"

Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee Arbitration
Recommendations for System Improvements to Prevent Recurrence

An arbitration proposal has been made regarding the leakage of SK Telecom subscriber personal information, recommending compensation of 300,000 won per customer who applied for dispute mediation.

An SK Telecom store in downtown Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the Personal Information Protection Commission on November 4, the Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee held a plenary session the previous day and made this decision regarding the dispute mediation applications filed against SK Telecom.

The mediation proposal includes payment of 300,000 won in damages to each applicant and recommendations to strengthen personal information protection measures. The applicants comprise 731 individuals and three groups totaling 3,267 people, for a total of 3,998 applicants.

The committee explained that it focused on reviewing the applicants' demands for compensation, institutional improvements, cessation of infringement, and restoration to the original state, and determined the damages by recognizing mental distress. This decision took into account anxiety over potential mobile phone cloning due to misuse of leaked information, as well as the confusion and inconvenience experienced during the process of replacing USIM cards.

The committee also recommended that SK Telecom establish and implement internal management plans, strengthen the security of its personal information processing systems, and take comprehensive measures to enhance personal information protection and prevent future leaks.

However, the committee noted that SK Telecom had immediately blocked the leak path, took measures such as USIM replacement to prevent misuse of personal information, and that the infringement had ceased. Due to the nature of the personal information leak incident, restoration to the original state was deemed unfeasible and was not accepted.

Going forward, the committee will notify both the applicants and SK Telecom of the mediation proposal and confirm their acceptance within 15 days. As the proposal is not legally binding, if either party does not accept it, the mediation will not be established and the case will be closed. In this case, it is highly likely that the applicants will proceed with civil litigation.

Woo Jisook, acting chairperson of the Dispute Mediation Committee, stated, "Since the committee has thoroughly discussed the claims and opinions of the parties involved to prepare this mediation proposal, we hope that the mediation will be established and that the applicants' damages will be actively remedied."

Meanwhile, SK Telecom stated that it will carefully review the details of the proposal before deciding whether to accept it. A company representative said, "It is regrettable that our efforts to manage the incident and provide voluntary and proactive compensation were not fully reflected," adding, "We will make a careful decision regarding acceptance."