Republic of Korea: Published PIPC Standards for processing public data used in AI development and services

On 17 July 2024, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) published standards for processing public data used in artificial intelligence (AI) development and services. The Standards aim to ensure that public data for AI development is processed legally and safely within the existing personal information regulatory framework. Public data, which is legally accessible by anyone on the internet, serves as training data for developing generative AI. This data may include personal information such as addresses, unique identification numbers, and credit card numbers, raising significant privacy concerns. The Standards were developed due to the current lack on clear standards on handling such data under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). The Standards aim to clarify the legal requirements for collecting and using public personal data and to provide minimum safety standards for companies during AI development and service stages.