The government decided that SKT must pay 300,000 won per person in damages to users who applied for dispute mediation over the SK Telecom hacking incident. If both sides accept, SKT will pay about 1.2 billion won in compensation, separate from the existing penalty surcharge.
The Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee said on the 4th that it decided to have SKT pay 300,000 won in damages to each applicant in a dispute mediation case filed against SK Telecom, which leaked the personal information of about 23 million subscribers. It also recommended that SKT strengthen personal information protection measures.
At the 59th general meeting held the previous day, the Dispute Mediation Committee heard statements from representatives of three group applications filed against SKT and from SKT, and conducted intensive deliberations on the damages sought by applicants, institutional improvements, cessation of infringement, and restoration to the original state. Since April, a total of 3,998 people (3,267 in three group disputes and 731 individual applicants) have applied for dispute mediation against SKT.
The Dispute Mediation Committee said, "SKT violated the duty to take protective measures under the Personal Information Protection Act and leaked 25 types of personal information, including subscribers' mobile phone numbers, subscriber identity numbers (USIM), and USIM authentication keys," and added, "In recognition of the mental harm caused by anxiety over potential mobile phone cloning due to misuse of leaked information and the confusion and inconvenience experienced during the USIM replacement process, we determined the amount of damages."
It also recommended that SKT prepare comprehensive personal information protection measures, including establishing and implementing an internal management plan and strengthening the security of the personal information processing system, to enhance protection and prevent a recurrence of leaks.
However, the Dispute Mediation Committee determined that SKT promptly blocked the leak path and took measures such as USIM replacement to prevent misuse of personal information, thereby stopping the infringement of personal information, and it did not accept restoration to the original state because, given the nature of a personal information leak, such restoration is practically difficult to achieve.
Acting Chair Woo Ji-suk of the Dispute Mediation Committee said, "As the committee thoroughly discussed the parties' claims and opinions and prepared a mediation plan, we expect the mediation to be concluded and the applicants' damages to be actively remedied."
If the mediation plan is concluded, SKT is expected to pay damages amounting to about 1.2 billion won.
Going forward, the Dispute Mediation Committee will notify the applicants and SKT of the mediation plan and confirm acceptance within 15 days. If either party does not accept the plan, the mediation will fail to conclude and the case will be closed.
Regarding the committee's mediation plan, SKT said, "It is regrettable that the company's efforts to handle the incident and its voluntary and preemptive compensation efforts were not sufficiently reflected," and added, "We will carefully decide whether to accept the plan after thoroughly reviewing the relevant details."