The Apple logo (Apple)
The Apple logo (Apple)

South Korean delegates of Apple refused to comment directly on the company’s role in the recent unauthorized transfer of 40 million local users' personal data to the China-based firm Alipay, according to a transcript released Tuesday of a meeting held last month by the state-run personal information agency.

The Personal Information Protection Commission last month imposed fines on both Kakao Pay and Apple in response to the Kakao subsidiary transfering the user data to Apple using Alipay as an intermediary. Users had not consented to Alipay handling their information in the transfer.

South Korean law requires user consent when a company provides their personal information to a third party, particularly when it is moved overseas. The data was reportedly used to process the non-sufficient funds (NSF) score for Apple, a task which was delegated by the US-based company to Alipay.

In the PIPC meeting, representatives of Apple were asked which other countries used Apple's NSF scores, to which they answered, "It is hard to make a public statement because we have to confer with our client. We do not know exactly."

When asked if the company had kept records so the incident could be investigated, the Apple delegation answered, "Many of those related have left the company. We can't track down (the related) emails." They also did not directly address the commission's request to submit related data, saying either that they cannot find it or that they will inquire with Apple headquarters in the US.

"We cannot but wonder if it is appropriate for the respondent to simply say, 'we don't have the data,' or 'this is all we can tell you,'" the commission members were quoted as saying in the minutes.

The standing members of the commission urged the PIPC to get multinational corporations to be more responsive to inquiries, to which the Vice Chairman Choi Jang-hyuk said the commission is working to revise related laws.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com