Ministry of Science and ICT Begins Drafting the 'Digital Services Safety Act'

Follow-up Measures After Pangyo Data Center Fire
Establishment of a Unified Legal System

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it has formed a 'Digital Service Safety Act Research Group' and held its inaugural meeting on the 3rd to integrate dispersed regulations related to the stability of digital services and secure service stability suitable for the digital age.

Since last year's fire accident at the Pangyo Data Center, the need for stability management has significantly increased not only for disaster situations in the telecommunications network but also for digital services and data centers. Various disaster management systems and protection regulations are dispersed across multiple laws such as the 'Framework Act on Broadcasting and Communications Development,' the 'Telecommunications Business Act,' and the 'Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.' To prevent confusion in the legal system for the relevant businesses, there is a growing need to establish a unified legal framework.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to form and operate a research group consisting of experts from various fields including telecommunications, law, services, and management, and through comprehensive analysis of the current status of systems related to the stability of digital services and infrastructure, aims to prepare a bill for the 'Digital Service Safety Act' in the near future.

At the inaugural meeting of the research group, discussions were held on the future direction of the legislation of the Digital Service Safety Act and the establishment of an appropriate regulatory system to resolve redundancies.

Park Yoon-kyu, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “It is time for a systematic reform of laws and systems that reduces confusion in legal application and increases acceptance to more effectively secure digital stability for the prosperity of the digital economy.” He added, “Through this research group, we will closely examine whether there were any overlapping regulations or gaps in the existing legal system, and speed up the preparation of the bill to reduce unnecessary burdens on digital-related companies and enhance the digital stability demanded by the times.”