Republic of Korea: Issued ruling in Investigation of Non-face-to-face Medical Platforms by Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC)

On 10 May 2023, the Korean Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) issued a ruling in its investigation of a number of non-face-to-face medical platforms including Gooddoc, Dr.Now, My Own Doctor, Ola Care, and Ddokdak. The investigation found that no medical information was stored directly on the platforms. Further, medical information was not used for targeted advertising. Nevertheless, violations of the Personal Information Protection Act were found in the processing of users' personal information. Some operators obtained collective consent from users, neglected access control to the personal information processing system, and did not encrypt resident registration numbers and account numbers. The businesses were fined a total of KRW 36.6 million and ordered to take corrective measures.