( November 12, 2026, 03:10 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: South Korean budget mobile operators, including KT M Mobile, LG HelloVision and SK Telink, have been sanctioned over widespread privacy violations, including the unlawful collection of national identification numbers and failures to safeguard users' personal information. The Personal Information Protection Commission said Thursday it had decided to impose a combined 171.3 million won ($128,000) in fines and administrative penalties on eight mobile virtual-network operators following an industrywide investigation. Investigators found that some companies collected national identification numbers without legal grounds, while others stored identification and financial information without encryption, failed to delete personal data after retention periods expired or made optional consent to third-party data sharing a condition of service activation. The regulator also ordered corrective measures and public disclosure of the violations, while recommending improvements to data-retention practices and subscription-cancellation procedures.Statement is attached (in Korean)....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
- Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
- Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
- Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
- Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline
Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.