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Photo courtesy of SK Telecom |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] SEOUL, November 4 (local time) — The Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee of South Korea has proposed that SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (SKT) pay ₩300,000 (approximately $220) in damages to each subscriber affected by a recent data leak.
The mediation ruling was issued on Monday in response to claims filed by 3,998 SK Telecom customers — including three collective petitions involving 3,267 people and 731 individual filings — seeking compensation for damages related to the company’s personal data breach.
The committee said the award recognizes the psychological distress and inconvenience caused by fears of mobile phone cloning and confusion during SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card replacement processes resulting from the data exposure.
If accepted, the proposed compensation would amount to roughly ₩1.2 billion ($8.7 million) in total for the current applicants. However, the total liability could rise sharply if more subscribers join the dispute.
An industry official noted, “Given SK Telecom’s subscriber base of about 22.3 million as of end-July, the mediation panel’s proposal effectively assumes potential damages approaching ₩7 trillion ($5 billion). This could be seen as excessive double punishment against a company that had already offered preemptive compensation.”
SK Telecom responded to the committee’s decision by expressing “regret”, while competitor KT Corp. is reportedly uneasy amid concerns that similar claims could follow in the broader telecommunications sector.
The mediation ruling is non-binding under Korean law. If either SK Telecom or the subscribers reject the proposal, the mediation process will be terminated without legal effect.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
