The government has launched a large-scale collective dispute mediation process to provide relief for users harmed by Coupang's personal information leak.
The Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee said on the 9th that it held a plenary session and voted to initiate two collective dispute mediations filed against Coupang.
This mediation moved forward after 50 users submitted the first application in December last year, followed by 1,626 joining on the 23rd of the same month. Separately, 866 users have also applied for general dispute mediation. As a result, the total number of applicants for mediation against Coupang has surpassed 2,500.
Under Article 49, Paragraph 2 of the Personal Information Protection Act, the committee entrusted with or receiving an application for collective dispute mediation may initiate the procedure immediately by resolution. Based on the relevant statute, the committee finalized the initiation of collective mediation in the Coupang case.
It is expected to take some time before the mediation process is completed. Taking into account that the Personal Information Protection Commission is currently investigating Coupang's leak, the committee decided to temporarily suspend mediation until the administrative disposition is finalized. Under the applicable rules, matters under investigation may be suspended until the disposition is completed.
Accordingly, the official announcement to initiate collective dispute mediation and the recruitment of additional parties are scheduled to proceed immediately after the Personal Information Protection Commission's investigation findings and disposition are finalized.