'Forced Resignation from Public Office' for Intentional Personal Information Leakage Causing Serious Rights Infringement

Enforcement of the "Guidelines for Disciplinary Actions on Violations of Personal Information Protection Regulations"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Guidelines for disciplinary actions against national and local public officials who violate personal information protection regulations have been established to enable strict disciplinary measures.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Personal Information Protection Commission, and the Ministry of Personnel Management announced on the 29th that the "Guidelines for Disciplinary Actions on Violations of Personal Information Protection Regulations" will be incorporated into disciplinary work regulations and manuals and will be enforced starting January 1st of next year.

The main contents of the guidelines for disciplinary actions on violations of personal information protection regulations are as follows. First, personal information handlers and personal information protection officers (or heads of audit departments) are required to report violations, and the head of the institution must promptly request disciplinary approval.

Next, dismissal or removal from public office is specified as a cause for public official expulsion in cases of "intentional leakage and misuse of personal information, serious secondary damage to the data subject, or significant infringement of the data subject's personality rights, indicating severe misconduct." Additionally, factors to determine severity include sensitive information, unique identification information, profit motives, and cases involving leakage of personal information of more than 1,000 individuals.

Furthermore, to provide practical reference, the types of personal information-related misconduct under the "Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Disciplinary Act" and the "Local Public Officials Disciplinary Rules" have been subdivided, including specific examples of acts for each type.

These guidelines and disciplinary work regulations and manuals are available for reference by any citizen with questions regarding disciplinary matters and can be accessed through the websites of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Personal Information Protection Commission, and the Ministry of Personnel Management.

The three institutions?the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Personal Information Protection Commission, and the Ministry of Personnel Management?expect that by utilizing the revised regulations and manuals to handle disciplinary work strictly and fairly, they will contribute to strengthening accountability for personal information protection within the public service community.