[2022 National Audit] Public Officials' Railway Usage Data Collected by Board of Audit... PIPC "To Discuss at Plenary Session"

Inspection of Personal Information Infringement Risks for Over 7,000 Request Details

Chairman Koh Hak-soo of the Personal Information Protection Commission and heads of related organizations responding to lawmakers' questions during the National Assembly's Information Committee hearing on the Personal Information Protection Commission held on the 14th. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) will discuss whether there is a risk of personal information infringement following the Board of Audit and Inspection's recent request for railway usage records of over 7,000 public officials from Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) and others.

On the 21st, during the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee comprehensive audit, PIPC Chairman Ko Hak-su responded to a question from Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Young-duk, who asked, "Should the PIPC independently investigate whether personal information is collected through lawful procedures?" by saying, "We plan to bring this up as an agenda item at a full committee meeting for discussion."

In September, the Board of Audit and Inspection received five years' worth of train boarding records (2017?2022) for 7,131 current and former public officials from KORAIL and SR, the operator of Suseo High-Speed Railway (SRT). It was confirmed that these records included information from when the officials were private citizens.

When lawmaker Yoon asked, "Does the Board of Audit and Inspection believe it can collect all personal information?" Chairman Ko replied, "I believe they can do so within the authority granted based on subordinate legislation of the Board of Audit and Inspection Act," adding, "If the special law, the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, takes precedence, that law must be followed."

Furthermore, when Yoon pointed out, "Heads of each ministry do not carry out their duties independently under the law but proceed based on a single word from the Presidential Office," Chairman Ko said, "We are discussing preparing guidelines or instructions that consider the unique characteristics of personal information processing in the public sector."

At the Political Affairs Committee audit held on the 14th, when questioned about this matter, the PIPC issued a statement to the National Assembly stating, "According to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act and audit regulations, the Board of Audit and Inspection can collect, provide, and process personal information such as resident registration numbers and boarding information from KORAIL, SR, and others without the consent of the individuals involved."

However, the commission added that if the Board collected information from the period when the individuals were private citizens despite knowing it was unnecessary, it could violate the principle of minimum collection of personal information under the Personal Information Protection Act.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.