Apple May Have to Pay $25 Million to 27,000 South Koreans

Like sharks smelling blood in the water, 27,000 South Koreans are suing Apple over the location tracking bug discovered in its iOS operating system earlier this year.

Following the example of Kim Hyeong-seok, a lawyer who had found that Apple could be sued over the mistake of allowing iOS to record copious amounts of location data, some 27,000 residents of the Republic of Korea decided they would do the same in a class action lawsuit targeting the Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker.

Seeking 1 million won, or about 900 US dollars in compensation for each individual, the successful outcome of the suit would have the US technology mammoth cough up no less than $25 million in total for what can be regarded as a relatively minor blunder.

While that’s pocket change for the $76 billion Apple has in cash reserves, the suit has the potential to set a precedent that could squeeze more money out of the Cupertino technology giant in different parts of the world.

As noted by the BBC, the lawsuit is backed by tough privacy regulation in South Korea.

In addition to paying Kim Hyeong-seok 1 million won for the "mental stress" caused by learning of the location-tracking abilities of the iPhone operating system, Apple also paid 3 million won to South Korea's communications regulator for violating the country's location information laws.

Apple is being hit by more and more lawsuits almost every day lately.

For example, Hagens Berman, a consumer rights class-action law firm, recently announced it had filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing Apple and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that they illegally fixed ebook pricing.

According to the law firm, Apple and the publishers colluded to increase the pricing for a number of popular titles, as well as to force e-book rivals to abandon their business models, with the ultimate goal of boosting profits.

The Hagens Berman suit seeks damages assessed in the tens of millions.