Republic of Korea: Adopted Personal Information Protection Act and Enforcement Decree Amendment Guide

On 29 December 2023, the Korean Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) adopted the Personal Information Protection Act and Enforcement Decree Amendment Guide, outlining the revisions to the applicable Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) regime after the completion of follow-up amendments and enforcement decrees in 2023. The guide covers revisions related to the provision of personal information to emergency services and the extension of mandatory participation to personal information dispute mediation from the public to the private sector. Additionally, it details the updated discipline of CCTV recordings, allowing their usage for statistics purposes, as well as the use of clearly disclosed video-recording autonomous vehicles and drones. Further, it clarifies the unification and streamlining of online and offline personal information protection (PIP) regimes, with the elimination of the one-year PIP conservation limit and the introduction of a general 72-hour reporting obligation in case of data breaches. Finally, it clarifies the civil and administrative sanctions applicable for the violation of the PIPA.