KCC Prepares 'Plan for Reviewing the Appropriateness of Personal Location Information Business Registration'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] The Korea Communications Commission announced on the 13th that it has prepared the "Plan for Reviewing the Appropriateness of Personal Location Information Business Registration for This Year (Draft)" and will publish the annual registration reception schedule so that businesses wishing to operate personal location information services can refer to the commercialization timeline.

To support faster commercialization of location information businesses, the number of appropriateness reviews, which were previously conducted quarterly (4 times a year), has been increased. This year, reviews will be conducted bimonthly (6 times a year). The first registration period will be from the 13th to the 20th of next month.

According to Article 5 of the "Act on the Protection and Use of Location Information" (hereinafter referred to as the Location Information Act), any person intending to operate a location information business targeting personal location information must register with the Korea Communications Commission, providing details such as the business name, main office location, type and content of the location information business, and major business facilities including the location information system.

The appropriateness review for registration evaluates three main criteria: "soundness of financial structure," which assesses the profitability and stability of the applicant corporation; "appropriateness of the scale of facilities related to the location information business," which evaluates the plans for establishing location information system facilities; and "appropriateness of technical and managerial measures for location information protection," which comprehensively assesses plans for protecting location information. If necessary during the evaluation, the opinions of the applicant corporation may be heard. Applicant corporations that receive a suitable rating in all review criteria during the registration appropriateness review are selected as eligible corporations and registered as new personal location information business operators.