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Personal information-related dispute settlement
□ Settlement of personal information-related disputes
○ Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee (PICO)
- Application for dispute mediation
·Any person or entity that seeks mediation of a dispute over personal information may address an application for mediation to the PICO (Article 43(1) of the 「Personal Information Protection Act」).
- Preparing a proposed mediation
·When the PICO receives an application for mediation of a dispute, it may present the details thereof to the parties to a case and recommend them to reach an amicable agreement prior to mediation. Where it is deemed necessary to efficiently meditate disputes, the PICO may establish a mediation division composed of not more than five members in each category of mediation cases. The PICO shall examine a case and prepare a proposed mediation within 60 days (this period may be extended, if any unavoidable cause exists.) of the date it receives an application for mediation of a dispute. Upon preparing a proposed mediation, the PICO shall present the proposed mediation to each party without delay (Articles 40(6), 44(1), 46 and 47(2) of the 「Personal Information Protection Act」).
·When the parties to a dispute in receipt of a proposed mediation fail to inform the PICO of their acceptance of the proposed mediation within 15 days of the date on which they receive it, the proposed mediation shall be deemed to have been rejected (Article 47(3) of the 「Personal Information Protection Act」).
- Rejection of application for dispute mediation and suspension of dispute mediation
·If the PICO deems that it is inappropriate to settle a dispute by mediation of the Committee in light of the nature of the dispute or if an application for mediation has been filed for any unjust purpose, it may reject the application for mediation. In such cases, it shall notify the applicant of the grounds for its rejection of the application for mediation and other related matters (Article 48(1) of the 「Personal Information Protection Act」).
·If a party to a dispute files a lawsuit while proceedings of a case filed for mediation are still in progress, the PICO shall suspend the mediation proceedings and notify the parties thereof (Article 48(2) of the 「Personal Information Protection Act」).
- If the parties to a dispute accept a proposed mediation, the PICO shall prepare a letter of mediation, and the chairperson of the PICO and the parties to the dispute shall print their names and affix their seals on the letter of mediation. In this case, the details of mediation shall be as effective as a judicial compromise (Article 47(4) and (5) of the 「Personal Information Protection Act」).
※ Applications to the PICO for dispute mediation may be made at the .
○ Asking for compensation for loss or damages caused by personal information infringement
- A person who causes losses to another person due to an unlawful act shall make compensation for damages arising therefrom. If users suffer any damage caused by a violation of law by a provider of information and communications services, they may claim compensation for such damage from the provider of information and communications services. (Article 750 of the 「Civil Act」 and Article 32(1) of the 「Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc.」)
·Here, “damage” includes property and mental damage. Generally, the amount of damage is set through an agreement made by the relevant parties or by the court’s judgment.
- In such cases, a provider of information and communications services or similar entity may not be exempted from liability, unless it proves that there was neither intentional act nor negligence on its part (Article 32(1) of the 「Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc.」).
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