Personal Information Commission Facing Google and Meta... Litigation Budget Only 200 Million Won

Goh Hak-su, Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission
Holds 1st Anniversary Press Conference
Complains of Budget and Manpower Shortages for Litigation
"MyData Achieves Success in Leading Global Standards"

Chairman Koh Hak-soo of the Personal Information Protection Commission held a meeting with the press corps at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 12th.

Last year, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) drew attention both domestically and internationally by imposing fines worth 100 billion KRW on Google and Meta, but it has been revealed that the commission's litigation budget is only 200 million KRW.

On the 12th, at a press conference held at the Seoul Government Complex to mark his first anniversary in office, Go Hak-su, Chairman of the PIPC, expressed difficulties, saying, "The biggest constraint is that the Personal Information Protection Commission is a newly established organization and is severely lacking in litigation-related budget and personnel."

Chairman Go said, "As of August, we have already spent more than 180 million KRW on litigation costs. We are making efforts within the budget limits," adding, "As the number of administrative dispositions increases, litigation overall is also increasing, and since Korea has a high rate of appeals and retrials after first-instance lawsuits, the number of lawsuits is bound to increase, which is a big concern."

In September last year, the PIPC issued corrective orders for violations of the Personal Information Protection Act by Google and Meta, imposing fines of 69.241 billion KRW on Google and 30.86 billion KRW on Meta. Google and Meta filed lawsuits in February to cancel these orders.

Regarding concerns that domestic IT companies such as Naver and Kakao strictly comply with the Personal Information Protection Act, while global companies like Google and Meta are relatively lax, Chairman Go strongly denied this, saying, "That is absolutely not the case."

He emphasized, "Foreign companies do not take compliance with Korean laws lightly, and if this is considered reverse discrimination against Korean companies, I personally find it very unpleasant," and stressed that active measures are also being taken against overseas companies. In fact, last year and this February, the PIPC imposed fines and corrective orders on Meta for refusing to provide personal information, which prevented users from signing up for Facebook and Instagram services.

Chairman Go added, "There is no distinction between domestic and foreign companies when administrative dispositions are issued and lawsuits are filed in objection."

Reflecting on his first year in office, Chairman Go evaluated, "There have been considerable achievements in three areas: advancing into the MyData era, leading global standards, and realizing a society that fairly enforces laws on personal information." He also identified MyData and artificial intelligence (AI) as key future projects.

In September, the PIPC implemented a comprehensive amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act, establishing a legal basis for the MyData business. The commission also formed a task force to ensure that MyData is effectively implemented by 2025. MyData is the right to request the transfer of various personal information held by private and public companies and institutions to the user themselves or a third party.

Chairman Go explained, "Regarding AI, there are many inquiries from the field asking whether new services violate the Personal Information Protection Act," adding, "We are giving a lot of thought to how to organize this area from the perspectives of the public and national competitiveness." To this end, the PIPC recently launched a dedicated 'AI Privacy' team.

Regarding AI regulation, he explained that both the European Union (EU), which focuses on regulation, and the United States, which entrusts autonomy to companies, offer points of reference.

Chairman Go said, "Both the EU and the US provide references and cautionary lessons to be learned. While we refer to both models, (our current status) is at the stage of developing a Korean model to be introduced overseas."