Personal Information Protection Commission Holds On-site Meeting to Improve Policy Research Quality Using Pseudonymized Data

26 NRC-Affiliated Research Institutes Participate

Sharing Experiences in Data Utilization for Research and Discussing Strategies for Expansion

National research institutes convened to explore ways to improve research quality using pseudonymized data.

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

The Personal Information Protection Commission announced on May 21 that it held an 'On-site Meeting on the Utilization of Pseudonymized Data' at the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences (NRC) located in the Sejong National Research Complex. The event brought together heads and researchers from a total of 26 affiliated research institutes. This meeting aimed to support safer use of pseudonymized data in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and listen to first-hand feedback from policy research sites.

The Personal Information Protection Commission noted that, with increasing demand for data utilization in policy research to address major social challenges such as rapid demographic changes due to aging and regional imbalances, it plans to expand the foundation for safe data utilization in collaboration with research institutes.

At the meeting, Song Kyunghee, Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, delivered presentations on topics such as 'Data Utilization Policy in the AI Era,' 'Policy Directions for Pseudonymized Data,' and 'Support Systems for Safe Data Utilization.' She also provided a comprehensive overview of practical systems and both online and offline support structures available for researchers.

Subsequently, researchers from NRC-affiliated institutes shared their experiences and case studies in utilizing pseudonymized data. Representative examples included: ▲Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (case of building integrated datasets using pseudonymized data, focusing on the Korea Health Panel Survey) ▲Korea Labor Institute (study on the analysis of healthcare utilization by life cycle and equity comparison) ▲Seoul National University (AI-based risk prediction for the elderly and policy evaluation studies).

Participants also discussed challenges encountered in data-driven policy research aimed at resolving major social issues. Researchers suggested several measures to promote trustworthy policy research, including establishing a data utilization governance system, simplifying standards and procedures for pseudonymization, and expanding support for computing resources necessary to process large-scale datasets.

Chairperson Song Kyunghee stated, "The use of pseudonymized data in research is essential for addressing structural challenges faced by our society, such as low birth rates, aging population, and polarization among social classes." She added, "We will actively support research institutes in the fields of economics, humanities, and social sciences to use data more safely and responsibly, so that effective policies can be developed under a government that values national sovereignty."

Lee Hanju, Chairperson of the NRC, commented, "The system for utilizing pseudonymized data enables precise data analysis and can significantly contribute to establishing tailored policies by empirically verifying policy effectiveness." He continued, "I hope that these efforts will lead to data-based, scientific policymaking and innovation in public services, resulting in tangible outcomes that the public can truly feel."

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