SK Telecom has decided not to accept the proposal of the Dispute Mediation Committee of the Personal Information Protection Commission that would compensate 300,000 won per person to victims of the personal data leak.

On the 20th, SK Telecom submitted documents to the committee stating its intention not to accept the proposal. SK Telecom stated, “We respect the decision of the committee, but we decided not to accept the proposal because the proactive compensation and recurrence-prevention measures the company took after the incident were not sufficiently reflected in it,” and added, “We will continue measures to restore customer trust and prevent additional harm.”

It is reported that after receiving the written decision on the 5th, SK Telecom conducted legal review and reached this decision. Mediation requires a party to state acceptance or rejection within 15 days from the date of notification, and if either side refuses, the mediation is not concluded and the case ends. Because SK Telecom did not accept the proposal, the applicants must continue the process through separate civil lawsuits.

Earlier, on the 3rd, the Dispute Mediation Committee decided, in response to an application filed by 3,998 customers, that SK Telecom must pay 300,000 won per person. The committee said it set the compensation amount by recognizing as mental damages the anxiety over phone cloning and the confusion and inconvenience during the SIM replacement process experienced by the applicants. In April, SK Telecom suffered a server hack that resulted in the theft of 25 types of personal information for about 23 million users, including mobile phone numbers and subscriber identification numbers (IMSI).

Behind SK Telecom refusal is the enormous compensation burden. If the terms of the concluded proposal were applied to all approximately 23 million victims, the total payout would reach 6.9 trillion won.

Separately, SK Telecom has reportedly decided to contest the 134.891 billion won administrative fine imposed by the Personal Information Protection Commission in August. At the time the fine decision was announced, SK Telecom stated, “It is regrettable that the outcome did not reflect our explanations regarding the measures we took.”

In September, SK Telecom also did not accept the recommendation of the Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Committee of the Korea Communications Commission to extend the fee-waiver period until the end of the year.

Separately, more than 9,000 hacking victims are pursuing a damages lawsuit against SK Telecom seeking 500,000 won per person in compensation for mental suffering. The first hearing is scheduled for January next year.