Legal Basis Established for Statistical Data Center... Amendment to Law Effective on the 19th

The legal basis for the Statistics Data Center, which allows direct use of statistical information on population, households, and more held by Statistics Korea, has been established.

Statistics Korea announced on the 17th that the amendment to the Statistics Act, which includes provisions on the Statistical Register and the Statistics Data Center, will take effect from the 19th.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Statistical Register is a population dataset containing basic information on population, households, housing, and businesses from statistical and administrative data, and is closer to raw data than the data provided through platforms such as the "National Statistical Portal." It includes Statistical Registers on population, households, housing, and businesses, which form the basis of statistical compilation, as well as registers on employment activities, child households, and youth, which are key policy targets.

Data from the Statistical Register can be utilized at the Statistics Data Center. The Statistics Data Center is a secure data zone where data from the Statistical Register and other statistical data can be combined and analyzed in a space isolated from external access. Any citizen can apply to use the Statistics Data Center, which not only provides Statistical Register data but also offers user education and consulting on data analysis methods.

The Statistics Data Center operates at 13 locations nationwide, including six centers in the Seoul metropolitan area such as the Gangnam Center and Jung-gu Center in Seoul, and two centers in the Chungcheong region. Although the Statistics Data Center has been operating since 2016, there was no legal basis for it until now; this amendment has established that legal foundation.

Lee Hyung-il, Commissioner of Statistics Korea, stated, "With the amendment of the Statistics Act, we expect that the data sharing and opening of the legally grounded Statistical Register and Statistics Data Center will make statistical compilation and research and analysis by statistical agencies and users more convenient and active."