Naver and Kakao have decided not to disclose the account information of the victims of the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster that occurred at Muan International Airport.
According to the information and communication technology (ICT) industry on the 6th, Naver and Kakao concluded that they cannot provide the account information and passwords of the victims to their bereaved families due to privacy policies and technical reasons.
Earlier, on the 3rd, the bereaved families of the Jeju Air disaster requested that the authorities disclose information about contacts left in KakaoTalk and other accounts used by the deceased to facilitate smooth funeral proceedings.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Science and ICT inquired whether information about the victims could be provided to operators like Kakao. However, Naver stated that the account passwords are encrypted in a way that cannot be decrypted, and therefore, the company also cannot access this information.
Naver explained that account IDs and passwords are classified as 'personal and exclusive' information that cannot be transferred to others, indicating that they do not provide this information even if bereaved families request it.
However, Naver explained that if relatives request it, they verify the relationship with the deceased and process the withdrawal from membership, and they provide backup services for publicly available materials that can be accessed without logging in.
Kakao also maintains the position that it cannot provide account information of the deceased, including chat histories, in accordance with its privacy policy.
A Kakao official noted, 'In accordance with our privacy-first policy, we do not disclose the deceased's account or password,' adding, 'If direct family members apply for a profile transition, we operate a KakaoTalk memorial profile to notify the obituary.'