"Preventing Public Institution Data Breaches"... Personal Information Commission to Implement Enhanced Measures Next Year

The government is improving its system to prevent data breaches in the public sector caused by external hacking or human error.

Song Kyunghee, Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, is speaking at the 5th plenary session held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on March 25, 2026. Photo by Jo Yongjun

On March 25, at the 5th plenary session, the Personal Information Protection Commission reported on its plan to enhance public sector personal information protection. The plan requires the 387 public systems within 58 institutions designated by the Commission to undergo vulnerability assessments and penetration testing at least once a year. The Commission will immediately revise the "Standards for Measures to Ensure the Security of Personal Information" and will implement the new standards starting next year.

Specifically, corrective orders will be actively imposed in the event of a data breach caused by human error. In the "2026 Public Institution Personal Information Protection Level Assessment," which evaluates compliance with personal information protection obligations and the efforts of institution heads, the penalty points for public institutions found in violation of the protection law will also be increased.

Education related to personal information protection in the public sector will also be strengthened. The Commission plans to produce and distribute customized educational content focusing on recurring cases such as incorrect data entry, misdelivery, and unauthorized disclosure, as well as best practices frequently observed in the public sector. Training for responsible personnel will be conducted in connection with regional briefings on the 2026 protection level assessment, enhancing the preventative capabilities of on-site staff in safeguarding personal information.

The Commission stated, "As public institutions handle large volumes of citizens' personal information, we plan to strengthen prevention-focused management systems tailored to the specific characteristics of incidents in the public sector."

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