Ministry of Science and ICT Designates 'Data Safe Zones'... Securing Unopened Data Safely

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 4th that it has designated Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Electric Power Corporation, National Pension Service·Jeollabuk-do, and the Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as Data Safe Zones in accordance with Article 11 of the Framework Act on the Promotion and Use of Data Industry.

Data Safe Zones are areas where data can be safely analyzed and utilized. Since the analysis results of the original data can be exported and used, concerns about leakage of sensitive non-open data are resolved. At the same time, it can meet the demand for high-quality data analysis.

The Minister of Science and ICT and heads of related central administrative agencies can designate Data Safe Zones if the designation criteria such as technical, physical, and managerial security measures are met, according to Article 11 of the Data Industry Act and Article 12 of its Enforcement Decree, which came into effect on April 20 last year.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the plan to designate Data Safe Zones in September last year and designated about four places after a review process of the institutions that applied.

Korea Expressway Corporation established a Data Safe Zone at the EX-Smart Center located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do. It is possible to discover transportation innovation services closely related to public life and safety in a safe environment without concerns about data leakage, and these can be applied and verified within the Safe Zone.

Korea Electric Power Corporation set up Data Safe Zones at the KEPCO Art Center in Seoul and its headquarters in Naju, Jeollanam-do. It provides vast power data customized according to user requests, allowing users to analyze and utilize it. It is expected to serve as an opportunity to promote the development and spread of new energy services using power data.

The National Pension Service·Jeollabuk-do established a space at the Jeonbuk Tech Biz Center in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, where various pension and financial data held by the National Pension Service can be safely viewed, analyzed, and utilized. This can foster innovative companies using data and promote balanced regional development.

The Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries created a Data Safe Zone where non-open data in the agriculture, forestry, and food sectors can be accessed in a safe online analysis environment. Through the Data Safe Zone, it has become possible to analyze original data such as agricultural management entity information, which was previously provided only as statistical data. Based on the analysis results, it is expected to contribute to agricultural policy development and improve data accessibility.

The Ministry of Science and ICT is accepting applications for Data Safe Zone designation on an ongoing basis. Detailed information about the application can be found on the Ministry of Science and ICT website.

Um Yeol, Director of AI-based Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “With the designation of Data Safe Zones this time, a foundation has been established where the industry can safely utilize high-quality data that has been continuously demanded. We will listen to users’ voices so that new value can be safely created based on the Data Safe Zones and strive to continuously improve related systems at the government-wide level.”

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