Republic of Korea: Communications Commission announced evaluations of telecom and online service providers including data protection risk assessment

On 23 April 2025, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) announced that 47 companies were selected for the 2025 user protection evaluation, with new participants such as Temu and AliExpress joining returning platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Coupang. An update to this year’s assessment is the inclusion of records of administrative action under the Personal Information Protection Act as a scoring factor, reflecting increased attention to data-related compliance within the scope of user protection oversight. Companies are evaluated on whether they have been subject to sanctions related to data protection laws and on their efforts to prevent identity misuse and fraudulent account creation, though the assessment does not include full enforcement of data protection statutes. The evaluation involves both review of internal policies and control procedures, and verification through on-site inspections and oversight by an expert committee. High-performing companies may be eligible for reductions in administrative fines and are encouraged to share recognized practices in user risk prevention, including data-related safeguards, with others in the industry.