South Korea Passes PIPA Amendment to Allow Personal Data Use in AI Development
South Korea's National Assembly has passed an amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), allowing AI developers to use a limited scope of personal data. This usage is subject to review and approval by the country's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC). This policy shift addresses complaints from the local AI industry that strict data privacy laws, which previously required explicit consent for any secondary data use, were hindering technological innovation. It represents a significant step by South Korea to balance privacy protection with the need to foster a competitive AI ecosystem. The amendment will take effect six months after cabinet approval and official promulgation, during which the PIPC will consult with experts and industry players to draft detailed guidelines. Previously, temporary regulatory exemptions for AI applications like autonomous driving were capped at a maximum of four years.
## BACKGROUND
Enacted in 2011, South Korea's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) is considered one of the strictest data privacy frameworks globally. Under PIPA, personal data could generally only be used for the exact purpose for which it was collected, making large-scale AI model training difficult without explicit user consent. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) serves as the central administrative agency responsible for enforcing these privacy laws.