[Asking the Way to the Data Economy] US Medical Data Worth 100 Trillion Won... Korea Is Just Taking Its First Steps

Asia Economy-Korea Data Law Policy Association Joint Project
(2) US, China, and Japan Leading the 'Oil of the Future'

[Asia Economy reporters Seolgina Jo and Heungsun Kim] "It is breast cancer." Watson, IBM's AI supercomputer in the United States, diagnoses patients based on vast medical data such as millions of diagnostic reports and patient records, then suggests the most likely disease and treatment methods to doctors. Watson, which acts as an 'objective advisor' to prevent misdiagnosis, is mainly used in analyzing computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Results that previously took one doctor over 160 hours to produce for specific cancer diagnoses are now generated in just a few minutes.

Recognizing early on the importance of data utilization, often called the 'oil of the future,' the United States actively shares and processes user data across various sectors such as healthcare, finance, and telecommunications. In the pharmaceutical industry, patient prescriptions, drug preferences, and side effect cases are used for new drug development to reduce costs and risks simultaneously. The ICT industry integrates this data into ICT devices to promote personalized services. Non-life insurance companies calculate premiums by combining their own data with driving pattern data secured by the automotive industry, moving away from traditional calculation methods.

◆US Healthcare Big Data Worth 100 Trillion Won= Such activities, which have been possible in major foreign countries for years, are expected to take off domestically with the enforcement of the Data 3 Act (Personal Information Protection Act, Information and Communications Network Act, Credit Information Act) in August. On the 25th, Kim Seoyeon, a data analysis expert at Samsung SDS Pro, introduced these utilization cases and stated, "Data utilization can produce greater added value," emphasizing, "Big data technology must be actively used while minimizing personal information leakage."

The country leading the data economy era is undoubtedly the United States. It is characterized by an environment where personal information utilization is relatively easy, and private companies voluntarily engage in data trading, processing, and analysis. The US has shared related data, judging that big data utilization in healthcare can create over 100 trillion won in value annually. Mint.com, a US fintech (finance + technology) company that gathers personal information secured by financial institutions and telecom companies into a single platform for one-stop asset management, has as many as 50 million users.

A case from eight years ago where the US retail giant Target detected a high school daughter's pregnancy before her parents and sent discount coupons for newborn products shows how important user data can be in corporate management strategies. At that time, Target reportedly sent promotional discount coupons based on the girl's recent purchase list. Companies have already entered an era where they must conduct thoroughly personalized marketing and new businesses based on extensive data analysis to anticipate what customers or potential customers might do in the future to survive.

◆Data Trading Markets Thriving in US, China, and Japan= In major countries such as the US, China, and Japan, data trading markets are also becoming active. The US has a 'data broker' market centered on private companies that collect consumers' personal information and sell it to third parties. Axiom, the world's largest data broker company established in 1969 and expanded to Europe, Asia, and South America, is representative. This company holds data on 2.5 billion consumers across 60 countries worldwide. By analyzing their annual transaction details, it provides customized information desired by industries such as finance, retail, and automotive. Through this, it exceeded $900 million (about 1 trillion won) in sales as of 2018.

According to the Korea Data Industry Promotion Agency, the US data broker market is the largest globally, worth about $183.2 billion (about 220 trillion won, as of 2018). Other major data broker companies include Click, which visualizes stock market information and demographic industrial statistics from 35 countries for sale, and CoreLogic, which processes and analyzes real estate transaction data for sale.

China has fostered the data trading market under state leadership. In April 2015, it established the world's first big data exchange in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, investing 50 million yuan (about 8.5 billion won) of state capital. Over four years until last year, data trading worth 300 million yuan (about 51.2 billion won) took place. Japan operates a platform that mediates data trading led by private venture companies. 'EverySense,' established in 2014, is representative. It is Japan's largest Internet of Things (IoT) platform with about 3,000 participating companies, where data prices are decided by sellers and buyers themselves.

Lee Jaejin, head of the Distribution Infrastructure Office at the Korea Data Industry Promotion Agency, explained, "Domestically, it can be seen as the initial stage of trying to create many big data platforms," adding, "Because data demand varies, it is not something that sells just by mass production like manufactured goods. Guidance is needed until it is traded."

◆Korea Rushes Forward... Emphasis on 'Safe Utilization'= The Moon Jae-in administration, which recently proposed the concept of a 'data dam' as part of the 'Korean New Deal,' is also accelerating the transition to a data economy. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced this month a case of 'AI learning data utilization' that includes building medical imaging data to enable AI diagnosis of diseases such as breast cancer, similar to Watson.

Predicting and preventing crimes in advance, like in the movie Minority Report, is also becoming a reality. AI learning data based on CCTV video data is being built to identify pre-crime patterns of criminals, so that if a specific individual exhibits such behavior, an alert signal is sent and security readiness can be immediately established.

In the industry, personalized services and targeted advertising through data combination are expected to accelerate. Previously, when a company selling books in Korea wanted to sell DVDs additionally, it had to obtain individual customer consent before sending personalized discount benefit lists. However, after the enforcement of the Data 3 Act, it will be possible to send them without consent if deemed reasonably relevant.

However, concerns about privacy infringement remain high in some quarters. Regarding this, Lee Sungyeop, president of the Korea Data Law and Policy Association, emphasized that "One cannot avoid riding a car just because there is a risk of accidents," stressing the importance of safe 'utilization.' Kim, the pro, also emphasized, "We must be careful about privacy leakage," but added, "Data-based new businesses should be activated using de-identified personal information processed so that individuals cannot be identified."