Ordered to Pay 300,000 Won Per Person... SK Telecom Weighs Whether to Comply

Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee Decides on Compensation Payment

Large-Scale Data Breach, Mental Damages Recognized... 1.2 Billion Won Awarded to 4,000 Applicants

The Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee (the Committee) has deepened SK Telecom's concerns with its decision to award compensation. On November 3, the Committee held a plenary meeting and decided that, for the large-scale personal information leak, SK Telecom should pay compensation of 300,000 won per person to approximately 4,000 applicants. The Committee recognized that the applicants suffered mental damages, including anxiety over potential phone cloning and confusion and inconvenience experienced during the SIM card replacement process. The total amount of compensation reaches 1.2 billion won.

Jaeheon Jung, CEO of SK Telecom. Photo by Dongju Yoon

The Committee has notified both the applicants and SK Telecom of the mediation proposal, and they must respond within 15 days regarding acceptance. If either party does not accept the proposal, it will not be established. While SK Telecom is reportedly still considering whether to accept, industry insiders believe it is more likely to reject the proposal. In September, SK Telecom expressed its intention not to accept the recommendation to extend the penalty exemption from the Korea Communications Commission's Dispute Mediation Committee by not submitting an opinion letter.

SK Telecom: Apologized at the Time... but Unlikely to Accept the Mediation Proposal

Yoo Youngsang, CEO of SK Telecom (center), and others are bowing their heads in apology at SKT Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, regarding the leakage of SK Telecom user USIM information due to a hacker attack. Photo by Yonhap News

If More Victims Apply, Compensation Amount Could Snowball

Customers who visited the official authorized dealer are waiting to replace their SIM cards. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

SK Telecom, which experienced a hacking incident, has decided to offer free SIM card replacements to all 23 million customers. Yonhap News

If All 23 Million Subscribers Apply, the Amount Could Reach 7 Trillion Won

Lawyers Son Gyejun, Yeo Sangwon, and Cho Younggon from Daeryun Law Firm (from left) are making a statement regarding the damages lawsuit related to the SK Telecom personal information leak case in front of the Seoul Central District Court. Provided by Daeryun

Members of the People's Hope Headquarters of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the Korea Consumer Federation are holding a press conference at the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to apply for dispute mediation regarding the SK Telecom USIM personal information leak incident. Photo by Yonhap News

The expectation that SK Telecom will not accept the mediation proposal is not solely due to the 1.2 billion won in compensation. Even if the mediation is established, the case would not be closed, as additional victims could still apply. If all SK Telecom subscribers (23 million people) were to claim damages and apply, the total compensation could reach 7 trillion won. Furthermore, paying compensation could affect court rulings in the multiple damages lawsuits already filed in connection with the SK Telecom hacking incident.

A notice about USIM stock depletion is posted at an SK Telecom agency where a subscriber USIM information leak incident occurred. Photo by Yonhap News

SK Telecom expressed regret, stating that its efforts to manage the incident and provide compensation-such as free SIM card replacements, penalty waivers, and service fee discounts-were not sufficiently reflected in the Committee's decision. SK Telecom also announced plans to invest 700 billion won in security over the next five years.

In 2021, Meta Faced Controversy Over Providing Member Information to Third Parties

Decision to Award 300,000 Won Per Person, but Mediation Was Not Established

Meanwhile, there was a previous case in 2021 where the Committee decided on compensation of 300,000 won per person. At that time, a group dispute mediation application was filed against Meta, the operator of Facebook, for providing member information to third parties. The Committee proposed that 181 applicants each receive 300,000 won in damages and that the applicants be allowed to view the identities of the third parties who received their personal information, as well as the types and details of the information provided. However, Meta sent an email stating it would not accept the proposal, so the mediation was not established.