PIPC Confirms Destruction of All 5.7 Billion QR Code and Safe Call Personal Data

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] It has been confirmed that approximately 5.7 billion QR code and Safe Call data were all destroyed following the suspension of the mandatory use of the quarantine pass and entry log. It was found that some multi-use facilities have not destroyed their handwritten logs and are still retaining them, prompting authorities to continue monitoring whether these are destroyed.

The Personal Information Protection Commission announced the results of an inspection on the destruction and cessation of collection of entry logs at multi-use facilities on the 6th. The inspection was conducted from the 10th to the 30th of last month, following the quarantine authorities' transition of the epidemiological investigation management system and the suspension of mandatory entry logs from February 19.

The Personal Information Protection Commission checked the destruction and cessation of collection by Korea Social Security Information Service, Naver, Kakao, KT, SK Telecom, LG Uplus, and Viva Republica, which collect electronic entry logs from multi-use facilities. As of February 28, all QR codes were destroyed and not stored in databases.

The QR codes collected from June 2020 to February this year amounted to 4.22 billion, of which 20 million were used for epidemiological investigations, representing 0.47%. The Commission explained that QR codes were automatically destroyed after four weeks of collection.

Safe Call data, accumulated from October 2020 to February this year, totaled 1.53 billion and were all destroyed and not stored in databases as of the end of February. The average monthly collection of Safe Call data was 90 million, with a daily average of 3 million. Among the accumulated Safe Call data, 230,000 cases (0.02%) were used for epidemiological investigations.

Vaccination certificates used for the vaccine pass were stored only on individuals’ mobile phones and were not stored by service institutions, the Commission explained.

However, some multi-use facilities did not destroy their handwritten logs. The Commission, together with 12 local governments across 5 regions, inspected whether handwritten logs were destroyed at 600 multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes, and instructed 127 facilities still retaining handwritten logs to destroy them immediately.

The Personal Information Protection Commission plans to cooperate with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, local governments, and the Korea Foodservice Industry Association to have local governments inspect whether multi-use facilities have destroyed their handwritten logs.