[Public Voices] Digital Platform Government 'For the People'

The government has promised the public to "realize the world's best digital platform government where all data is connected." With the digital platform government realization plan unveiled on the 14th, a concrete direction has become clear. However, despite broad agreement on the grand vision, there have been significant differences in perspectives regarding the concept, direction, and implementation methods. Should the future realized by the digital platform government be filled only with a completely new level of innovation unlike anything before? Until now, efforts in the digital transformation seemed primarily aimed at changing the foundational environment of work and daily life into an advanced one through the development and introduction of new cutting-edge systems. It is true that we have benefited greatly from the transition to an advanced environment. We can now access the Government24 system anytime and anywhere to view and receive official documents, and conveniently receive groceries at home through e-commerce.

Of course, fully transitioning the foundational environment to a digital platform government environment is important. However, that itself should not be the goal. The ultimate goal of the digital platform government is to enable citizens to live their daily lives comfortably without feeling inconvenience even in minor aspects, anytime and anywhere. While it is true that citizens’ lives have become more convenient on a large scale through the digital transformation, many inconveniences remain in the finer details. The digital platform government is a key means and essential requirement for becoming a truly advanced country in the digital transformation era. Utilizing data-driven national governance methods based on various advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) is inevitable.

The problem is that connecting all data and actively utilizing AI inevitably increases the likelihood of side effects such as concentration or misuse of citizens’ personal information. In this regard, setting the strengthening of the data safety utilization foundation as one of the main policy measures of the digital platform government is desirable. The issue lies in the details. To finely meet citizens’ demands, it is important to establish legal grounds for the legitimate processing of personal information. Rather than supporting all detailed personal information processing with overly broad regulations, it is necessary to specifically anticipate all predictable scenarios and establish legal grounds for each type. Personal information-centered design must be implemented in the process of realizing the digital platform government. Even if the state is inevitably allowed to process personal information for the citizens, monitoring whether the actual processing of that personal information is conducted appropriately for lawful purposes is also important.

Both the state and citizens must always remain vigilant regarding the processing of personal information to realize the digital platform government. Primarily, governments, public institutions, and private companies that directly process personal information must always pay attention to whether personal information is processed appropriately based on legal grounds and manage it properly. The Digital Platform Government Committee and the Personal Information Protection Commission, which has independent supervisory authority over personal information, must present standards for appropriate personal information processing within the digital platform government and continuously supervise it. We hope that the digital platform government, based on the safe utilization of personal information and continuous innovation, will serve the citizens well.

Choi Kyung-jin (Professor, College of Law, Gachon University; Director, AI and Big Data Policy Research Center)