Seoul bike users sue after massive Ttareungi data breach
Twenty-three users are seeking compensation, alleging Seoul’s bike operator failed to safeguard personal information and delayed disclosure of a breach affecting 4.62 million people.
A Ttareungyi public bike-sharing rental station in central Seoul on July 23
NEWS1
Twenty-three users of Seoul’s public bike-sharing service, Ttareungi, have filed a damages suit against the Seoul Facilities Corporation for having their personal information leaked.
They are seeking 300,000 won ($217) in compensation per person.
Lawyers for a Democratic Society, or Minbyun, filed the complaint with the Seoul Central District Court on Saturday on behalf of the Ttareungi users. Attorneys from Minbyun’s digital information committee argued that the corporation violated its duty to take safeguards under Article 29 of the Personal Information Protection Act — among other things, by leaving the system configured so that personal information could be accessed without an authentication token.
They also argued that the corporation concealed signs of the data breach for nearly two years, violating its notification obligations under Article 34 of the same law, which governs data breach notifications. Minbyun said it may consider filing additional lawsuits if more victims express an interest in joining the legal action.
The Ttareungyi app was hacked by two high school students in June 2024, according to police. About 4.62 million users are believed to have been affected. The leaked information included user IDs, mobile phone numbers, dates of birth, sex, weight, email addresses, home addresses and guardians’ mobile phone numbers.
The breach came to light in January while police were investigating a separate case involving a distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attack. The Seoul Metropolitan Government asked police to investigate, saying the corporation had taken no initial response for nearly two years despite becoming aware of the personal data leak.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
