Internet Auction not responsible for data leak, court says

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court ruled Thursday that an Internet auction
site was not responsible for leaking the personal information of its users after
hackers breached its system, dismissing a record damages suit.
Internet Auction Co., whose shares are largely owned by the U.S. auction site
Ebay Inc., was hacked in February 2008, leading to the theft of over 10 million
users' private information, including Web IDs, home addresses and phone numbers.
Following the incident, 145,000 users filed a series of collective suits against
Internet Auction. In a written complaint, they claimed to have suffered from
"emotional distress," citing concerns that the leaked information would lead to
further collateral damage such as credit card scams and identity theft.
"Although it is regrettable that Internet Auction was not able to prevent the
hacking, it is hard to say that the company made a mistake," the Seoul Central
District Court said in a ruling.
"Holding an Internet-based company responsible for stolen personal information
from hacking should be limited to cases when the company failed to uphold its
duties," the ruling said.
South Korea is one of the world's most wired countries, with a growing number of
consumers shopping in cyberspace thanks to a well-established high-speed Internet
network with more than 90 percent of households on-line.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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