S Korean Apple users sue over privacy

A lawsuit involving 26,691 iPhone users in South Korea are taking action Apple for a breach of privacy (EPA)

More than 25,000 South Korean iPhone users have filed a class action lawsuit against the US technology giant Apple for alleged privacy violations over the collection of location data.

The lawsuit came after lawyer Kim Hyung-Suk was awarded a million won ($933) as compensation in June.

It was the first such payout by Apple’s Korean unit, following an interim order by a court in the southeastern city of Changwon.

Kim has since led online preparations for a class action suit against Apple and its South Korean unit.

The suit filed involves 26,691 people demanding one million won each, a spokesman for Kim’s firm Miraelaw said.

“We have electronically filed a suit seeking compensation from Apple and its South Korean unit for emotional damage caused by illegal location tracking by Apple’s iPhone,” the law firm said in a statement.

Apple in May released updated software for iPhones to fix “bugs” that resulted in location data being unencrypted and stored for up to a year.

The move followed a probe launched by the regulator in April to check if the collection of location data from iPhone users violated privacy rules, as a result Apple were fined 3 million won ($2,855).