200 billion won of Coupang's 600 billion won 'personal information fine' suspended (comprehensive)

Fines imposed on unauthorized collection of member records... Information leak fine maintained

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Young-seop = Out of a total fine of 600 billion won imposed by the Personal Information Protection Commission on Coupang for personal information leaks, the effect of 200 billion won was suspended.

The remaining 400 billion won in effect remained in effect.

On the 6th, the 1st Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Yang Sang-yoon) cited Coupang's application for suspension of execution against the Personal Information Commission, asking "to suspend the effect of the imposition of a fine of 201.1 billion won and the correction and publication order."

The effect of these dispositions is suspended until 30 days from the date of the first trial judgment in the case requesting cancellation of fines, etc., which is the main lawsuit.

The Personal Information Protection Commission decided to take action in June of this year, saying it confirmed that Coupang had committed a violation by unauthorizedly collecting online activity records of about 11.17 million members who accessed third-party websites and apps and storing them in a database (DB) with individual users identified.

The court explained, “It is clear that there is a risk that Coupang will suffer irreparable damage due to the National Security Commission’s disposition, and that there is an urgent need to suspend the effect to prevent this.”

In addition, he pointed out, “It does not appear to be a case where there is a risk of a significant impact on public welfare due to the suspension of effect, or where it is clear that the applicant’s claim on the merits is groundless.”

Coupang also filed a lawsuit against the fine of 423.6 billion won in connection with the leak of personal information of about 37.5 million people, but the previous day, another court did not accept the request for suspension of execution.

The previous day, the 4th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Chief Judge Kim Young-min) maintained the effect of the disposition, saying, "It appears that the damage Coupang will suffer due to the Personal Information Commission's decision to impose a fine of 400 billion won can be restored through monetary compensation."

However, in the case of the corrective order and public announcement order issued by the Personal Information Commission at the time, the effect was suspended until 30 days after the main case was decided, saying that there was a risk of irreparable damage to Coupang.

The correction order focuses on strengthening safety measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring, notifying information subjects other than members of information leaks, and ensuring the practical role of the personal information protection officer (CPO).