Goh Hak-soo, Chairperson of the Personal Information Commission, "We will establish ourselves as the control tower for personal information policy"

Personal Information Commission Marks 3 Years Next Year
"Proud of Imposing Fines on Google and Meta"

Goh Hak-su, Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, is answering questions at a press briefing held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 15th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The Personal Information Protection Commission, which will mark its 3rd anniversary next year, announced that it will firmly establish itself as the control tower for personal information policy by leading communication and cooperation among the public, businesses, and government to ensure the successful settlement of the digital platform government, a core national agenda of the government.

On the 15th, Ko Hak-soo, Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, held a press briefing and spoke about the achievements since its launch and future tasks.

Chairperson Ko explained the process since the launch, saying, "We have been considering how to prepare personal information-related legislation, respond to new technologies, and prepare for the data era," and "It was a process of establishing a framework on how to position ourselves as a new institution."

He cited the major achievement of the commission as the imposition of a total fine of 100 billion KRW on Google and Meta in September for violating the Personal Information Protection Act. On the 9th, the commission sent a resolution regarding corrective orders and fines for violations of the Personal Information Protection Act to Google and Meta. After receiving the resolution, Google and Meta have 90 days to accept the disposition or file an administrative lawsuit.

Regarding this, Chairperson Ko said, "Countries around the world are showing interest and making inquiries about this disposition," and added, "While there are related precedents in the United States and Europe, there has been no case in Asia where investigations and dispositions have been conducted so actively. We take pride in actively responding to problematic situations and conducting investigations and dispositions."

He also expressed his intention to continue sufficient dialogue with Google and Meta.

Chairperson Ko explained, "It is only natural to regulate where regulation is necessary, but it is absolutely unacceptable to regulate where regulation is not needed," and added, "Our investigations and dispositions serve to clarify the boundaries, and in areas referred to as gray zones in the field, we will provide guidelines."

Additionally, he mentioned that the commission is separately reviewing Meta’s prior notice that service use would be restricted if users do not consent to personal information collection, independently of the current disposition.

He also announced plans to comprehensively strengthen the commission’s organization, taking advantage of the recent passage of the Personal Information Protection Act amendment through the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee. Furthermore, he evaluated positively the amendment’s revision of the original provision that calculated the upper limit of fines for violations as an amount not exceeding 3% of total sales, by excluding sales unrelated to the violation, expecting positive effects.

Chairperson Ko pointed out the change in the burden of proof regarding sales used as the basis for calculating fines as the most important change, saying, "There was a consensus that calculating fines uniformly based on total sales could lead to large fines even for minor mistakes, so a revised alternative was prepared."

He explained, "Until now, the commission calculated the sales related to fines and presented the basis, and the personal information handler agreed. Going forward, if the commission calculates fines based on total sales, the personal information handler will prove sales unrelated to the violation and exclude them."

Regarding concerns that the effectiveness of fines might weaken, Chairperson Ko emphasized, "If sales data is not submitted or is falsely submitted, fines can be calculated based on total sales, which increases the reliability of data submission."

Chairperson Ko identified "trust" as the keyword for personal information protection next year. He pointed out that data use based on trust must be a prerequisite and that there are limitations to the current consent-based data collection and use.

He emphasized, "Consent is of course important in the collection and use of personal information, but there is a risk of falling into consent absolutism," and added, "When someone uses my data, trust that it will be used in the way and for the purpose I think is a much more important prerequisite."

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