Seoul Women's University and 4 Other Universities Open Majors in Personal Data Protection

As Part of the Government Innovation Talent Development Project

Next year, five universities (Seoul Women’s University, Kangwon National University, Korea University, Yonsei University, and Chung-Ang University) will establish majors in Personal Information Protection.

The Personal Information Protection Commission announced this on the 14th during the ‘2023 Personal Information Protection Field Innovative Talent Development Project’ performance report meeting held at Seoul Women’s University.

The ‘Innovative Talent Development Project in the Field of Personal Information Protection’ is a project aimed at nurturing experts in the public and private personal information sectors at the university level, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and others.

Seoul Women’s University, which has participated in the project since last year, operated a micro-degree program this year. The Department of Information Security plans to recruit freshmen in 2024, including a major in Personal Information Protection.

Kangwon National University, after a preparation period this year, recruited 30 students in their 2nd to 4th years for the Personal Information Protection Convergence Major within the Department of Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity for 2024. Korea University selected 32 students in their 3rd and 4th years for the convergence major in 2024.

Yonsei University started operating a micro-degree program this year. Chung-Ang University plans to recruit students for the convergence major in the second semester of the first half of next year.

The Personal Information Protection Commission plans to support joint promotion among universities, hold university-specific personal information protection idea competitions, develop standard curricula, and create educational materials. In the long term, it will also promote the establishment of master’s and doctoral programs in personal information protection in consultation with related ministries.

Lee Jeong-ryeol, Secretary General of the Personal Information Protection Commission, said, “With the advent of the digital age, the importance of personal information is increasing, and the demand for personal information specialists is also rapidly growing. Through the Innovative Talent Development Project, we expect a diverse range of specialized professionals focused on personal information protection and utilization to be produced.”