Former lawmaker Won Hee-ryong stepped into the developments surrounding the credit card companies’ data leak on Tuesday by submitting a class action lawsuit for affected bank customers.

Won, who served three terms in the National Assembly as a Grand National Party lawmaker, is representing 514 people affected by the leak alongside 10 newly qualified lawyers. The GNP has since become the Saenuri Party.

“The government is announcing response measures, but there are concerns that they will peter out,” Won said after filing the suit at the Seoul Central District Court.

“The suit was filed to show that the people will exercise their rights to control personal information and not just stand by as such leaks occur in the future.”

The massive information security breach uncovered last month involved personal information of more than 20 million customers of KB Kookmin Card, Lotte Card and NH NongHyup Card.

The plaintiffs represented by Won are each seeking 1 million won ($923) in compensation from the three credit card companies, credit-information provider Korea Credit Bureau and the Financial Supervisory Service.

Meanwhile, a parliamentary investigation will be conducted by the National Policy Committee from Wednesday until Feb. 28.

Under the plans, the committee will scrutinize financial institutions’ personal information management systems, and determine whether the leak resulted in secondary damages.

The committee will also look into the financial authorities, and draw up preventive measures.

An on-sight inspection at various financial institutions including the card companies and the Korea Federation of Banks is scheduled for Friday.

Concerned government bodies including the FSS and the Office for Government Policy Coordination will hold a briefing session on Feb. 13.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)