On January 12, 2024, EJE LAW (Attorneys Hyeon Ho Kim and Nam Hong Kim) successfully represented the Korea Communications Commission in Case No. 2022GuHap90715 before the Seoul Administrative Court, in which the KCC sought to revoke a corrective order and related measures. The Seoul Administrative Court recently recognized this case as one of its “Notable Recent Decisions”.

The case involved an administrative lawsuit filed by a broadcasting company seeking to revoke corrective orders and monetary sanctions imposed by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). The sanctions were issued on the grounds that the broadcaster had improperly exploited viewer information by providing it to an insurance agency. The broadcaster argued that it had not directly collected or used viewer information, and that the sponsorship fees received from the insurance agency constituted legitimate compensation under a sponsorship agreement. However, EJE LAW, representing the KCC, countered that the broadcaster, by transferring viewer calls to the insurance agency through call forwarding service, should be deemed to have directly collected and disclosed viewer information to the agency. Furthermore, considering the amount of the sponsorship fees paid by the insurance agency, such fees effectively represented compensation for the viewer information, thereby constituting improper exploitation of personal data. The Seoul Administrative Court fully accepted the arguments presented by the KCC and ruled against the plaintiff broadcaster. For more details on the decision and related articles, please refer to the links below.

■ Decision in the Related Case: https://sladmin.scourt.go.kr/dcboard/new/DcNewsViewAction.work?seqnum=25670&gubun=44&cbub_code=000220&searchWord=&pageIndex=1

■ Related Article: https://www.news1.kr/articles/?5368053