[Asia Exclusive] Ready for August's 'Data 3 Laws'... Set to Become the Center of the Data Economy

Data is the Seed of the 4th Industrial Revolution... National Economy's Success Depends on Processing and Utilization
A Korean Version of Google Will Emerge to Present a New Paradigm for High-Quality Data Sharing
MyData Industry Expected to Shine... Maintaining Top-Level Security as 'Life'

Shin Hyun-jun, President of the Credit Information Service, is being interviewed by Asia Economy. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Interview = Asia Economy Lee Chohee, Head of Finance Department, Organized by = Asia Economy Reporter Kim Minyoung] ‘D-Day August 5, 2020.’

Shin Hyunjoon, President of the Korea Credit Information Services (KCIS), has been eagerly awaiting this day. It is the first day of enforcement of the Data 3 Laws (amendments to the Personal Information Protection Act, the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, and the Credit Information Act), which were passed after many twists and turns in the 20th National Assembly. In a recent interview with Asia Economy at his office in the Bankers’ Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, President Shin stated, “With the amendment of the Data 3 Laws, financial companies will enhance their competitiveness by producing data for product and service development, and consumers will be able to use better customized services at lower costs.”

He added, “KCIS will become a core platform once the data-centric economy fully begins,” and said, “We will strive even harder to create a data ecosystem where high-quality data can be conveniently and freely utilized.”

Data is called the ‘oil of the future’ and the seed of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The reason global big tech companies and countries are focusing on collecting big data is that the success or failure of the economy depends on how well data is processed and utilized in the future.

President Shin likened data to ‘water’ and KCIS to a ‘waterworks bureau.’ He explained, “The waterworks bureau draws water that is not drinkable, processes it step-by-step through purification, and supplies safe and clean water to households and businesses. Similarly, KCIS collects financial and public data, standardizes it, checks for accuracy, and shares high-quality data with financial companies, serving as a key infrastructure.”

Shin Hyun-jun, President of the Credit Information Service, is being interviewed by Asia Economy. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

KCIS is still an unfamiliar organization to the general public. Established in 2016, KCIS is the only comprehensive credit information agency in Korea, created to integrate and manage credit information scattered across six institutions: the Korea Federation of Banks, the Korea Credit Finance Association, the Life and Non-Life Insurance Associations, the Korea Financial Investment Association, and the Korea Insurance Development Institute. Now five years old, KCIS is making its presence known ahead of the enforcement of the Data 3 Laws.

Korea is far behind the U.S. and Europe in transitioning to a ‘data economy.’ Especially in the U.S., there are virtually no regulations on data utilization, allowing companies to unleash unlimited ideas using credit information. Representative companies include Google and Amazon. These companies create new demand and break down the boundaries of existing industries through big data and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, presenting new paradigms.

President Shin emphasized, “With the amendment of the Data 3 Laws, Korea has just reached the level of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).” GDPR is a law implemented by the European Union (EU) since May last year, introducing the concept of pseudonymized information and allowing the use of credit information for research and statistical purposes. The EU is praised for balancing protection and utilization to promote data-driven innovative growth through this law. Korea has belatedly established legal and institutional measures for credit information utilization.

Once the law is enforced, KCIS’s role will expand. It will have the authority to oversee whether institutions and companies are properly applying anonymization and de-identification measures to data. It will also conduct ongoing evaluations to ensure proper information use and management obligations are fulfilled.

KCIS plans to establish and operate a Personal Credit Evaluation System Verification Committee. The committee will review the validity of basic information used by private credit bureaus (CBs), the statistical significance and stability of evaluation models, complaints, and system improvement matters. President Shin stressed, “We are preparing for the successful launch of the verification committee by benchmarking the investigation areas and methodologies of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.” The committee will appoint experts from academia, the legal sector, finance, and consumer protection fields as members, including the President of KCIS.

KCIS will also play a pivotal role in the MyData industry (personal credit information management business) born from the enforcement of the Data 3 Laws. The core of MyData is the shift of credit information management from companies to individuals. Consumers directly decide where to store their credit information and which companies can use it.

Companies aiming to process data and provide customized financial services to consumers are showing great interest. According to a recent preliminary demand survey conducted by the Financial Services Commission for MyData licensing, 116 applications were submitted. Financial companies such as banks and insurance firms accounted for 55, the largest number, but IT giants like Naver and Kakao also threw their hats into the ring.

KCIS is already fully prepared. President Shin said, “Over the past four years, we have simultaneously worked on organization, system introduction, and workforce expansion to serve as a core platform for the MyData era.”

In June last year, KCIS opened ‘CreDB,’ a financial big data open system that can be called a ‘data playground,’ providing sample data related to individuals and companies. Through big data analysis conducted by 43 institutions including financial companies, fintech firms, and academia, 53 research outcomes were produced, such as credit evaluation model development, AI solution advancement, and academic paper authorship.

Shin Hyun-jun, President of the Credit Information Service, is being interviewed by Asia Economy. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

KCIS also established a Financial Big Data Center and recently launched the Financial Data Forum, a group of experts. They have steadily built foundational areas for MyData, including advanced systems, research centers, and think tanks.

Known as an ‘international expert’ during his public service, President Shin has also elevated KCIS’s international status. As the inaugural chair of the Asia Credit Information Network (ACRN), he has built cooperative relationships with Vietnam and Indonesia and maintains close communication with the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and China’s National Development and Reform Commission.

KCIS quietly fulfilled its role even during the COVID-19 crisis. Six business days after the government announced financial support programs for small business owners, on April 6, KCIS established a ‘duplicate benefit prevention system’ and has been monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on household and individual business financial lives, providing daily reports to authorities.

Regarding concerns about security breaches, privacy exposure, and excessive data concentration due to information being centralized, President Shin bluntly stated, “Security issues are nothing but groundless fears.”

He explained, “The information collected by KCIS is limited to credit information necessary for the operation of a public credit information agency, such as loan and delinquency information and insurance contract information. Credit information collection is based on the thorough prior consent of the information subject, and when providing collected credit information to other institutions, KCIS faithfully fulfills the obligations of prior consent and subsequent notification of the information subject.” He added, “Under the slogan that security is life, we maintain the highest level of security technology by utilizing top security personnel.”