Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties pointed out the inadequacy of post-incident compensation in response to a series of recent personal data breach incidents at corporations. They criticized the measures as mere face-saving gestures lacking practical effectiveness.
During the National Assembly audit held by the Committee on Finance on the 13th, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Kang-il pointed out Hong Seung-il, CEO of Gangnam Unni, who appeared as a witness, asking, "There was no leakage of financial information, so why is financial fraud insurance included in the compensation plan?" He added, "It makes no sense and seems like a joke."
Rep. Lee stated, "What kind of compensation is 50,000 won?" and said, "It looks like it is being used as a marketing tool, and it reads as if they are not going to provide any proper compensation at all." He further rebuked, "If your spouse or daughter's nude photos were leaked all over the internet, would you agree to settle for 50,000 won?"
Regarding Choi Ju-hee, CEO of Tving, Lee said, "I am not sure if company points or CGV discount coupons can be considered compensation." He added, "They claim they cannot provide proper compensation due to severe losses. I think that if a company lacks the capability, it would be better for customers and consumers if it simply shut down."
People Power Party lawmaker Cho Jung-hoon also directed his remarks at Choi, stating, "The most important part is an individual's millions of data points, and failing to invest sufficiently in this area for profit generation is wrong." He added, "What angers the public more is the compensation issue. The Personal Information Protection Commission should not only focus on administrative fines but also properly consider the compensation issue."
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Min-gyu pointed out to Choi, "Victims must apply directly to receive compensation, and those who have canceled their subscriptions must re-register." He continued, "Would someone who has canceled want to sign up for Tving again? This is just a forced bundle sale of affiliated company products. It is marketing to induce the reuse of Tving; how is that compensation?"
He further stated, "Tving accounts are openly being sold on Chinese online shopping malls, and more than 300 sales records have been confirmed." He added, "Will they later claim in consumer dispute mediation or damage compensation lawsuits, like Coupang did, that they provided compensation and ask for a reduction because the vouchers were used? The Personal Information Protection Commission should strictly manage to prevent such tricks."
Meanwhile, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Yong-man pointed out, "When imposing administrative fines, awareness and reporting of the breach are considered, but there is no legal basis to regulate cases where data is concealed or destroyed before an investigation begins." He added, "Concealment and destruction imply intent, so punishment must be extremely strong without exception."
Personal Information Protection Commission Chairwoman Song Kyung-hee said, "It does not seem easy to reduce penalties on the grounds that compensation was provided if the breached companies do not prepare effective compensation plans," but added, "If we completely disregard the fact that compensation is insufficient, other companies will have little incentive to compensate when similar incidents occur. We will take this into account and review thoroughly."
in TECH
