'Personal Information Leak' at Homeplus... Supreme Court Rules "Partial Compensation Required"

Customers partially won a lawsuit claiming damages against Homeplus for leaking their personal information.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Shin Sook-hee) on the 17th upheld the appellate court's ruling that partially ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a damages claim lawsuit filed by 283 people including Mr. Kang against Homeplus.

Mr. Kang and others filed a damages claim lawsuit in 2015, alleging that Homeplus sold personal information worth approximately 23.17 billion KRW collected through a prize event from December 2011 to July 2014, along with information of about 2,400 Family Card members, to an insurance company, causing them harm.

The first trial court ordered compensation ranging from a minimum of 50,000 KRW to a maximum of 120,000 KRW to 284 people. The appellate court interpreted the scope of compensation more narrowly than the first trial court. Unlike the first trial court, the appellate court limited compensation for membership card holders and narrowed the scope of recognized claimants, excluding membership card holders who did not consent to the provision of their personal information to third parties or who did not participate in the prize event.

Additionally, the first trial court held Homeplus responsible for proving that customers' personal information was not provided to the insurance company. In contrast, the appellate court ruled that customers must prove that their personal information was provided.

The Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court's judgment. The court stated, "There is no error in the appellate court's ruling that the defendant's violation of the Personal Information Protection Act cannot be recognized without specific and individual evidence that the plaintiffs' personal information was provided to the insurance company," and added, "The fact that a personal information handler violated the Personal Information Protection Act must be claimed and proven by the information subject."

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Sang-hwan) also reached the same conclusion on the same issue in a damages claim lawsuit filed against Homeplus on the same day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.