Yoon Jong-in Appointed as Inaugural Chair of the Personal Information Protection Commission... Committee Formation Completed (Comprehensive)

On the 5th, at the inauguration ceremony of the Chairman of the Personal Information Protection Commission held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, newly appointed Chairman Yoon Jong-in is delivering his inaugural speech. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Yoon Jong-in, the inaugural chairman of the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), held an inauguration ceremony at the Government Seoul Office on the 5th and began his duties.

The PIPC, an integrated supervisory body for personal information, officially launched on the same day the Data 3 Act (Personal Information Protection Act, Information and Communications Network Act, Credit Information Act) came into effect, as a ministerial-level central administrative agency under the Prime Minister. It was elevated from a presidential advisory committee to an independent organization with authority over its own organization, personnel, and budget. This marks nine years since the enactment of the Personal Information Protection Act in 2011. The personal information protection functions, which had been dispersed across multiple ministries such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Korea Communications Commission, and the Financial Services Commission, have also been unified under the PIPC.

In his inaugural speech, Chairman Yoon stated, "The PIPC must meet the era's expectations of 'achieving a balance between personal information protection and utilization,'" and expressed his ambition to "lead a paradigm shift in personal information protection policies and support the success of the Digital New Deal." He also urged the staff, saying, "Please dedicate yourselves to your work with professionalism and communication as core values so that the launch of the integrated PIPC will not be a mere change but bear meaningful innovation." After the ceremony, he held an executive meeting to share with the executives the determination to ensure smooth operations of the integrated PIPC and future policy implementation.

Chairman Yoon, a 31st-grade civil service exam passer, has served as Director of Government Innovation Organization at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Director of Local Autonomy and Decentralization at the same ministry, standing commissioner of the PIPC, and Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. He was appointed as the inaugural chairman of the PIPC on the 30th of last month.

On the same day, the PIPC appointed seven non-standing commissioners, completing the composition of the commission. The PIPC consists of nine members: a minister-level chairman, two standing commissioners including a vice chairman at the vice minister level, and seven non-standing commissioners.

Among the seven non-standing commissioners, two were appointed by the President, and the remaining five were appointed by the President following recommendations from the National Assembly?two from the ruling party and three from the opposition parties. The President-appointed commissioners are Kang Jeong-hwa, Chairperson of the Korea Consumer Federation, and Yeom Heung-yeol, Professor of Information Security at Soonchunhyang University. The ruling party recommended Seo Jong-sik, Chief Lawyer at the law firm Seonwoo, and Lee Hee-jung, Professor at Korea University Law School. The opposition party recommended Ko Seong-hak, CEO of Korea Information Certification, Ji Seong-woo, Professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law School, and Baek Dae-yong, Lawyer at the law firm Sejong.

The seven non-standing commissioners will serve a three-year term until August 4, 2023, performing duties related to deliberation and resolution on the establishment and execution of personal information protection policies of the PIPC.