"Strengthening the Overseas Business Operator Representative System"... Personal Information Protection Act Amendment Passed by Standing Committee

Establishment of Sanctions for Violations

The Personal Information Protection Commission announced on the 25th that the amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act, which includes improvements to the domestic representative system for overseas business operators as a major content, was approved by the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee on the 24th.

The amendment, jointly proposed by Representatives Kang Ming-guk and Kim Tae-ho, focused on enhancing the effectiveness of the domestic representative system, which had been operated somewhat formally. The domestic representative system was introduced to hold overseas business operators responsible for protecting the personal information of our citizens and for remedying damages.

Personal Information Protection Commission logo.

This amendment includes a provision that requires overseas business operators to designate their domestic corporation as the domestic representative if they have a corporation established in Korea. Additionally, it mandates that the overseas headquarters manage and supervise the domestic representative, and establishes sanctions for violations.

This legal amendment was made as the processing of our citizens' personal information by overseas business operators has surged. Representative Kang Ming-guk of the People Power Party stated, "There is no separate regulation on the form or operation method other than the domestic location for the designation requirements of domestic representatives by overseas business operators, which causes the problem of designating and operating domestic representatives only formally," and emphasized, "It is natural that overseas business operators must guarantee rights according to the Protection Act and actively provide remedies if they process the personal information of our citizens."

An official from the Personal Information Protection Commission said, "We strongly agree with the purpose of the amendment," and added, "Once the law is amended, we will continue to make efforts to ensure that the domestic representative system for overseas business operators is effectively established and contributes to the protection of our citizens' personal information through subsequent enforcement ordinance revisions and regular inspections."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.