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Kakao setback as South Korean court backs PIPC over KakaoTalk open-chat breach

By Jenny Lee ( January 15, 2026, 03:08 GMT | Insight) -- Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s popular messaging app, has lost its court challenge to the country’s privacy watchdog, after a Seoul court dismissed the company’s appeal over the KakaoTalk open-chat data breach — a ruling that keeps the regulator’s sanctions intact and leaves Kakao facing one of the country’s largest privacy penalties. Judges at the Seoul Administrative Court announced the outcome from the bench on Thursday, dismissing the appeal against the Personal Information Protection Commission and ordering that litigation costs be borne by the tech giant.Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s popular messaging app, has lost its court challenge to the country’s privacy watchdog, after a Seoul court dismissed the company’s appeal over the KakaoTalk open-chat data breach — a ruling that keeps the regulator’s sanctions intact and leaves Kakao facing one of the country’s largest privacy penalties....

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