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Tue, March 28, 2023 | 23:00
-------------------------
Consumers sue Home plus for data leak
"홈플러스 고객정보 불법판매로 피해" 집단 손배소
Posted : 2015-02-17 15:29
Updated : 2015-02-17 16:27
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Home plus CEO Do Sung-hwan
Home plus CEO Do Sung-hwan

By Chung Hyun-chae

More than 150 consumers have filed a collective lawsuit against Home plus, a discount store chain, for selling their personal data to insurance firms without their consent.

Yeyul, a law firm representing the 152 people, said Tuesday it had submitted a complaint to the Seoul Central District Court seeking a combined 45.6 million won ($41,435) in compensation for mental and financial damages. Each client is demanding 300,000 won.

The collective action comes after six former and incumbent Home plus executives, including current CEO Do Sung-hwan, were indicted for selling the data from 24 million customers to insurance firms, receiving 23 billion won for the exchange.

"Home plus collected sensitive personal information including names, phone numbers, birth dates and whether customers lived with their parents, which would likely be used for crimes such as phone scams and phishing," the consumers said in the complaint.

"Under the law on privacy protection, a company should collect as little information as possible from customers and should not provide the data to a third party without their consent."

Home plus claimed it informed customers of how the data would be used by writing details on the back of lottery coupons. But the text was written in a font size of 1 millimeter and almost nobody noticed it.

"If we had noticed, we would not have agreed to provide our personal information," they said. "And even though some agreed to the provision, it does not mean they agreed to Home plus illegally making a profit through the data sale."

A lawyer at Yeyul said, "Considering that this was done by one of the country's top retailers, unlike previous personal information leak incidents committed by hackers, this case is more serious. That fact must be taken into consideration when estimating the compensation."

According to a joint government investigation team, Home plus collected the private information of 7.12 million people through 11 lotteries from 2011 to July last year and sold that information to seven insurance firms for 14.8 billion won.

The team said the lotteries were held under the name of "appreciation to customers," but the actual purpose was to collect the data. Each person's data was sold for 1,980 won.

The retailer also sold the personal data of some 16.9 million Home plus members to two insurance firms in return for 8.3 billion won.

Similar suits are expected to follow, as some consumer groups are receiving applications from Home plus clients to begin collective action. Civic groups and Internet users are also staging a boycott of the retailer.



"홈플러스 고객정보 불법판매로 피해" 집단 손배소

홈플러스가 경품행사와 회원카드 가입 등을 통해 모은 고객들의 개인정보를 보험사에 팔아넘긴 사건이 집단 손해배상 청구 소송으로 이어졌다. 

17일 법조계에 따르면 홈플러스가 보험사에 팔아넘긴 개인정보의 당사자 152명이 '홈플러스가 불법으로 고객 정보를 수집하고 이를 제3자에게 판매해 부당한 이득을 취하는 바람에 정신적·경제적 손해를 입었다'며 손해배상을 청구하는 소송을 서울중앙지법에 냈다. 

이들은 소장에서 '홈플러스는 경품행사를 하면서 고객들이 생년월일, 자녀·부모의 수와 동거여부까지 적게 했는데, 개인정보를 수집하는 경우 그 목적에 필요한 최소한의 개인정보를 수집해야 하고 당사자 동의 없이 제3자에게 제공하지 못하게 한 개인정보보호법을 위반했다'며 '불법행위로 인한 손해배상 책임을 져야 한다'고 주장했다.   

또 '홈플러스는 경품행사 응모권 뒷면에 고객 개인정보를 보험사에 제공한다는 내용을 기재했다고 하지만, 1㎜ 크기로 적어놔 대부분의 고객들이 이를 알지 못했다'고 지적했다. 

그러면서 '만약 경품행사에 응모하며 기입한 개인정보가 보험사에 팔리고 보험사로부터 보험가입 권유 전화를 계속해서 받게 될 위험이 있음을 알았다면 정보제공에 동의하지 않았을 것'이라고 강조했다. 

아울러 '홈플러스는 고객들이 제3자에게 자신의 정보를 제공하는 것에 동의했다고 주장할지 모르지만, 상식적으로 고객들이 자신의 개인정보를 보험회사들에 판매해 부당한 이익을 얻는 것까지 동의했다고 볼 수는 없는 노릇'이라고 덧붙였다.

이들은 또 홈플러스가 회원카드(멤버십)에 가입시킨 고객들의 정보를 팔아넘긴 행위 역시 개인정보의 제3자 제공시 당사자에게 명확하게 알리고 동의를 받아야 하는 규정을 위반했다며 불법 행위로 인한 손해배상 책임에 해당한다고 밝혔다.

앞서 홈플러스 임직원들은 2011년 말부터 지난해 7월까지 11차례에 걸쳐 진행한 경품행사에서 고객들의 개인정보 712만건을 부당하게 입수한 뒤 보험사 7곳에 1건당 1천980원을 받고 팔아넘겨 148억원을 챙긴 혐의로 기소됐다.

또 2011년 12월부터 지난해 8월까지 회원카드 가입 등을 통해 수집한 개인정보 1천694만건을 보험회사 2곳에 판매해 83억5천만원을 챙긴 혐의도 받았다. (연합뉴스)
Emailhcchung@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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