Police Probe Kakao Pay Over Alleged Unauthorized Transfer of User Data to Alipay

Police Probe Kakao Pay Over Alleged Unauthorized Transfer of User Data to Alipay: Reporter Paul Lee / approved : 2026-05-15 06:12:53

Photo courtesy of Yonhap News

[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Police have launched an investigation into Kakao Pay over allegations that it shared users’ personal data with China’s Alipay without customer consent.

The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said it began probing the company in March after receiving a referral from the Financial Supervisory Service. Kakao Pay is being investigated on suspicion of violating the Credit Information Use and Protection Act.

Kakao Pay is accused of transferring approximately 54.2 billion cases of personal data belonging to around 40 million users to Alipay between 2018 and May 2024.

The data transfer allegedly occurred during the process in which Kakao Pay relayed customer payment information to Apple via Alipay’s system, raising concerns over the handling of sensitive user information without proper consent.

Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)

https://www.alphabiz.co.kr/news/view/1065615157206107
This article is based on global economic content from Alphabiz, which distributes English-language news on Korean markets and companies to international audiences.