BOK-Personal Information Commission Seminar on Enhancing CBDC Privacy Protection Technologies

The 2nd 'Personal Information Technology Forum' Seminar Co-Hosted

The Bank of Korea and the Personal Information Protection Commission announced on the 24th that they jointly held the 2nd "Personal Information Technology Forum" seminar of 2024 at the Bank of Korea Conference Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, under the theme "Directions for Utilizing Enhanced Privacy Protection Technologies Related to CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency)."

This seminar was held to discuss technical and institutional measures to safely protect and process users' personal information related to CBDC.

The Technology Forum is a consultative body launched by the Personal Information Protection Commission in September 2022, where experts from academia, industry, and research institutions participate to establish a foundation for personal information protection and safe utilization, holding seminars twice a year.

Yeom Heung-yeol, Chair of the Technology Forum, emphasized in his opening remarks, "As research related to CBDC continues, awareness of personal information protection is also increasing. This seminar will be an important step in building a safe and trustworthy CBDC system through the cooperation and discussion of personal information protection experts."

The first presenter, Lee Ji-eun, a manager at the Bank of Korea, gave a presentation on "The Bank of Korea's Research Directions and Current Status on Personal Information Protection Related to CBDC." Manager Lee shared the Bank of Korea's design goals and research status for a CBDC system that protects personal information. Although the Bank of Korea has not yet decided on the introduction or operation method of CBDC, it is actively conducting research on personal information protection like major central banks.

Next, Kim Do-yeop, a lawyer at Kim & Chang Law Firm, presented on "Legal and Technical Issues Related to CBDC from the Perspective of Personal Information Protection." Lawyer Kim emphasized various considerations for defining personal information in the CBDC system based on the Personal Information Protection Act and managing it safely amid ongoing discussions on various laws and regulations related to CBDC.

Professor Choi Dae-seon of Soongsil University presented on "Utilization Plans for Enhanced Personal Information Protection Technologies in CBDC," introducing an experiment on CBDC remittance transactions using Ring Signature technology, which mixes multiple users' signatures to make it impossible to identify whose signature it is. He also explained various technologies that can safely protect personal information during CBDC transactions.

Shin Jun-beom, CTO of Cryptolab, presented on "Methods to Grant User Information Control Rights Using Homomorphic Encryption Technology." Homomorphic encryption is a technology that allows computations on encrypted data to produce the same results as computations on the original data. CTO Shin proposed ways for users to proactively and securely control their transaction information using homomorphic encryption technology.

Oh Hyun-ok, CEO of ZCrypto, presented on "Design Plans for AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing) Technologies for Anonymous Transactions Using Zero-Knowledge Proofs." Zero-knowledge proofs are technologies that can prove the existence of secret information without revealing the information itself. By utilizing zero-knowledge proofs, it is possible to verify suspicious transaction activities without transmitting personal information, thereby complying with anti-money laundering regulations.

The Personal Information Protection Commission emphasized that it will continue to collaborate with the Bank of Korea to review technical and policy aspects to ensure that personal information within the system is safely processed in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act when CBDC is introduced.

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