Civic group files complaint against Kakao over alleged privacy law violations

The Seoul YMCA filed a complaint against Kakao with the Personal Information Protection Commission in Seoul on Monday, alleging that Brand Message uses personal data for targeted advertising without users’ consent. The group said Kakao matches advertiser-provided phone numbers with its user database and shares ad engagement data with advertisers. It urged an investigation, corrective measures including a universal opt-out feature, and possible suspension of the service.

Reports of spam related to Brand Message exceeded 132,000 after the service was introduced and rose 2.5-fold in the first seven months of this year, according to lawmakers on the National Assembly’s ICT committee.

Of 22 fines imposed on individual advertisers this year, 18, or 81.8 percent, involved sending KakaoTalk advertisements without obtaining consent for advertising on the platform.

The Seoul YMCA survey found that 16 percent of respondents saw no problem with unsolicited KakaoTalk advertising, while 69 percent supported government regulation of potentially illegal advertising practices.

The group alleged that Kakao’s use of phone numbers for advertising targets violated Article 18 of the Personal Information Protection Act because users had supplied the numbers for basic messaging functions.

Published Oct 12, 2026 2:58 pm KST

Kakao's Pangyo office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Korea Times file

A civic group filed a complaint against Kakao with the privacy watchdog on Monday, alleging that the tech giant's corporate advertising service uses personal data to target users without their consent.

The Seoul YMCA said it urged the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) to investigate KakaoTalk’s Brand Message service and impose strict sanctions if violations are confirmed.

The group said Kakao replaced its previous channel-based advertising service, which limited promotional messages to users who had added a business’s KakaoTalk channel, with Brand Message, which allows businesses to send ads without requiring users to follow their channels.

It alleged that Kakao matches phone numbers provided by advertisers with its own user database to identify ad recipients, even though users had provided their numbers for basic messaging functions, not to receive third-party advertising.

“The key alleged violations involve the unauthorized use of personal information and infringement of users’ rights,” the group said.

“Although users agreed to provide their phone numbers for basic messaging functions when signing up, Kakao used them to identify advertising targets for outside businesses, in violation of Article 18 of the Personal Information Protection Act.”

The group also accused Kakao of generating users’ ad engagement data, including message views and clicks, and sharing it with advertisers without the users' consent. It said the service lacks a feature allowing users to opt out of all Brand Messages at once, limiting their ability to control how their personal information is used.

The allegations have not been independently verified.

Reports of spam related to Brand Message topped 132,000 after the service was introduced, surging 2.5-fold in the first seven months of this year, according to data from lawmakers on the National Assembly's ICT committee.

The group said of the 22 fines imposed on individual advertisers this year, 18, or 81.8 percent, involved sending ads through KakaoTalk without obtaining consent for advertising on that platform.

“Individual advertisers have been fined after running campaigns based on Kakao’s guidance, while Kakao itself has avoided legal liability despite reaping substantial profits from the service,” the group said.

The Seoul YMCA’s recent survey found that only 16 percent of respondents did not see a problem with advertisers sending messages through KakaoTalk without users’ prior consent, while 69 percent said government regulation was needed to address potentially illegal advertising practices.

The group called on the PIPC to investigate the service’s data-handling practices and order corrective measures, including a feature allowing users to opt out of all Brand Messages. It also urged the watchdog to consider suspending the service if the underlying problems remain unresolved.

首尔基督教青年会（YMCA）周一向首尔个人信息保护委员会投诉Kakao，指控其旗下品牌信息服务（Brand Message）未经用户同意，利用用户个人数据进行定向广告投放。该组织称，Kakao会将广告商提供的电话号码与其用户数据库进行匹配，并将广告互动数据分享给广告商。YMCA敦促相关部门展开调查，并采取包括添加全员退出功能在内的整改措施，甚至考虑暂停该服务。

据国民议会信息通信技术委员会的议员称，自该服务推出以来，与品牌信息相关的垃圾邮件举报数量已超过 132,000 起，并且在今年前七个月增长了 2.5 倍。

今年对个人广告商处以的 22 项罚款中，有 18 项（占 81.8%）涉及未经许可在 KakaoTalk 平台上投放广告。

首尔基督教青年会的一项调查发现，16% 的受访者认为未经请求的 KakaoTalk 广告没有问题，而 69% 的受访者支持政府对可能非法的广告行为进行监管。

该组织声称，Kakao 将电话号码用于广告投放违反了《个人信息保护法》第 18 条，因为用户提供这些号码是为了基本的短信功能。

发布于2026年10月12日下午2:58（韩国标准时间）

Kakao 位于京畿道城南市的板桥办事处/《韩国时报》档案

周一，一个公民团体向隐私监管机构投诉Kakao，指控这家科技巨头的企业广告服务未经用户同意，使用个人数据进行定向投放。

首尔基督教青年会表示，已敦促个人信息保护委员会（PIPC）调查KakaoTalk的品牌信息服务，如果违规行为得到证实，将实施严厉制裁。

该集团表示，Kakao 用品牌信息服务取代了之前基于频道的广告服务（该服务将促销信息限制在已添加企业 KakaoTalk 频道的用户），该服务允许企业发送广告而无需用户关注其频道。

该指控称，Kakao 将广告商提供的电话号码与其自己的用户数据库进行匹配，以识别广告接收者，即使用户提供电话号码是为了基本的短信功能，而不是为了接收第三方广告。

该组织表示：“主要指控的违规行为包括未经授权使用个人信息和侵犯用户权利。”

“虽然用户在注册时同意提供手机号码以使用基本短信功能，但 Kakao 却利用这些号码为外部企业识别广告目标，违反了《个人信息保护法》第 18 条的规定。”

该组织还指控Kakao未经用户同意，收集并向广告商分享用户的广告互动数据，包括消息浏览量和点击量。他们表示，Kakao缺乏让用户一次性选择退出所有品牌消息的功能，限制了用户控制个人信息使用方式的能力。

这些指控尚未得到独立核实。

根据国会信息通信技术委员会议员提供的数据，自品牌信息服务推出以来，与该服务相关的垃圾邮件举报数量已超过 13.2 万条，今年前七个月的举报数量增长了 2.5 倍。

该组织表示，今年对个人广告商处以的 22 项罚款中，有 18 项（占 81.8%）涉及未经许可通过 KakaoTalk 发送广告。

该组织表示：“个别广告商因按照 Kakao 的指导开展广告活动而被罚款，而 Kakao 本身尽管从这项服务中获得了巨额利润，却逃脱了法律责任。”

首尔基督教青年会最近的一项调查发现，只有 16% 的受访者认为广告商未经用户事先同意通过 KakaoTalk 发送信息没有问题，而 69% 的受访者表示需要政府监管来解决潜在的非法广告行为。

该组织呼吁个人信息保护委员会（PIPC）调查该服务的数据处理方式，并责令其采取纠正措施，包括增加一项允许用户选择退出所有品牌信息推送的功能。该组织还敦促监管机构，如果根本问题仍未得到解决，应考虑暂停该服务。