Korean Government Releases Guidelines For De-Identification Of Personal Information

On June 30, 2016, various South Korean government agencies including the Korea Communications Commission, the Financial Services Commission, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning promulgated the Guidelines for De-Identification of Personal Information (the "Guidelines"). The Guidelines are effective as of July 1, 2016, and are expected to impact various industries, not limited solely to the IT sector.

With these Guidelines, the relevant government agencies have made their position clear that de-identified data does not fall within the legal scope of "Personal Information" defined under the current personal-information protection laws. The Guidelines are expected to positively impact the use of big data by various industries including the IT, finance (fintech), and medical industries, as the use of de-identified personal information is now clearly allowed without any consent.