Personal Information Protection Commission Designates Korea Local Information Development Institute, KCA, and Lotte Data Communication as Pseudonymized Information Integration Institutions

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The Personal Information Protection Commission announced on the 30th that it has designated three organizations?Korea Local Information Research & Development Institute, KCA, and Lotte Data Communication Company?as specialized institutions for pseudonymized information linkage.

Pseudonymized information refers to data where parts of personal information are deleted or replaced so that individuals cannot be identified without additional information. Since linking multiple pseudonymized data increases the possibility of identifying individuals, the government has restricted the linkage of pseudonymized information to designated specialized institutions only.

The Korea Local Information Research & Development Institute will support data-driven decision-making for local governments through its experience in data analysis and utilization in the field of local administration. KCA, a consulting firm specializing in information and communication technology (ICT), plans to meet diverse corporate demands for data convergence based on its experience in establishing informatization strategies, big data analysis, and personal information protection consulting. Lotte Data Communication Company will provide private data linkage services based on its accumulated experience in data utilization across various industries such as distribution, food, chemical, and logistics.

Last November, the Personal Information Protection Commission designated Samsung SDS and Statistics Korea as specialized institutions for data linkage. Since then, the application process for specialized institutions has been converted to a rolling basis. Among the applicants who submitted their applications between April and May this year, these three organizations were finally confirmed after document review, on-site inspection, and designation evaluation.

Park Sanghee, Secretary General of the Personal Information Protection Commission, stated, "Specialized institutions for data linkage will serve as hubs for applicants seeking opportunities to discover new industries through the linkage of heterogeneous data." He added, "With the additional designation of these specialized institutions, we expect a broader range of choices for pseudonymized information linkage demanders and improved accessibility to data linkage."