Court leaves Coupang's 423.5 billion won 'personal information leak' fine in place

[Financial News] Coupang, which was fined around 423.5 billion won over a massive personal information leak, asked the court to suspend the effect of the disposition, but the court rejected the request. It did, however, grant a stay of execution for the corrective and publication orders, among others.
On the 5th, the Fourth Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court, presided over by Judge Kim Young-min, dismissed the part of Coupang’s application for a stay of execution against the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) that concerned the imposition of the fine.
The panel found that “the loss Coupang will incur appears capable of being restored to its original state through monetary compensation,” adding that “the supporting materials submitted are insufficient to show that the fine-imposition disposition poses a risk of irreparable harm or that there is an urgent need to suspend its effect to prevent such harm.”
In particular, the court ruled that it was difficult to conclude that imposing the fine would cause Coupang tangible or intangible harm that would be difficult to bear or exceptionally onerous.
By contrast, it granted the application for a stay of execution of the corrective order and the public-announcement and publication orders issued by the PIPC to Coupang, saying that “there is a risk of irreparable harm.” Accordingly, the effect of those dispositions will be suspended until the date 30 days after the judgment in the main case is pronounced.
The PIPC had previously imposed a fine of around 423.5 billion won in connection with Coupang’s massive personal information leak. Separately, it also imposed a fine of around 201.1 billion won over the unauthorized collection of users’ online activity records.
Coupang challenged both sanctions, filing separate lawsuits seeking their cancellation and also applying for stays of execution to suspend the effect of the dispositions.
At the hearing on the application for a stay of execution held on the 29th of last month, Coupang argued that it would suffer a massive blow if a huge fine were imposed. The PIPC countered that Coupang’s parent company holds substantial cash-equivalent assets and would have no difficulty paying the fine.
Meanwhile, the court has yet to rule on the application for a stay of execution of the fine of around 201.1 billion won related to the unauthorized collection of users’ online activity records.
 
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter