Suppose you bought several items of outerwear from a particular fashion brand. After one year, when you visit the same brand, it automatically recommends which outerwear would be best for you, considering your gender, which style you prefer, and even how resistant you are to the cold. This scenario may sound absurd now, but it seems highly likely in the near future. The Korean National Assembly passed the amendment of three laws regarding data information on January 28 and promulgated it on February 4. Lawmakers and experts of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are expecting that this amendment will enable South Korea to revolutionize the data industry.
The so-called Three Data Related Acts is suggesting three amendments to Korean law: specifically, the Personal Information Act, Act on Communication Network, and Act on Credit Information. The core of the change is to liberalize the flow of pseudonymous data, data that is personal information but still keeps a certain degree of privacy. Companies can freely collect, use, and process pseudonymous data without the credit information provider’s approval. Besides, the amendment eliminated duplicate regulation for data usage and only allowed the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) to regulate.
However, concerns arose after the assembly’s approval of Three Data Related Acts. Some people are unwilling to provide their personal information to flow through different companies. Though it is pseudonymous data, the information is still hugely private, which can be very dangerous if misused. Opposers of the act also emphasize the side-effect of the law, which is the risk of the disclosure of real personal data. This enables one’s personal information to be abused by companies or even criminals.
Despite this risk, the South Korean government amended the bill to better prepare for the social change that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring. According to the lawyer Kim Jung Min’s article in Opinion News, the basis of the data industry - blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Autonomous Vehicle (AV), among others - acquire a substantial amount of data. Relieving the regulation of data collection will enable AI to study the provided data. Not only the ICT, but other fields such as medical, financial, and manufacturing businesses are looking forward to taking advantage.
The reformation of the Three Data Related Acts will undoubtedly bring positive effects to our society. However, appropriate sanctions should be imposed to prohibit the abuse of personal information. Unfortunately, the current amendment does not include a specific measure of punishment for this misconduct. On the other hand, the recent reformation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union (EU) reinforced the responsibility of the companies when they collect pseudonymous data. The law specified that companies should pay a fine of either four percent of their annual sales or 20 million euros if they utilized the data for illegal purposes.
The adoption of the Three Data Related Acts will promote the data industry and enable South Korea to better adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. However, given the concerns regarding data spillage, appropriate additional sanctions should be imposed. By following the EU’s example, South Korea should also place more responsibility on the companies before August 5, when the law will be executed. Although Three Data Related Acts does not seem like it will benefit the public, it is still a blessing in disguise, which is likely to benefit various South Korean industries in the future if it is implemented with appropriate regulation.