"Why are there so many data breaches?" asked… Personal Information Protection Commission chair: "Because our IT infrastructure is highly advanced"

Song Kyung-hee, Chair of the Personal Information Protection Commission, stated that the recent increase in domestic personal information leakage incidents is "because our IT infrastructure is highly advanced."

At the Committee on Political Affairs and Economy’s national audit held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 13th, Song (Chairman) responded to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Cho Jung-hoon asking, "Why is Korea so vulnerable to personal information leaks?" by stating, "The fact that our IT infrastructure is well-developed also means it is correspondingly vulnerable. Compared to investments in IT development, investment in security has been extremely insufficient."

When Jo (Rep.) further questioned, "I don’t understand why the Personal Information Protection Commission exists," "Personal information collection is excessive compared to OECD countries," "There are structural problems," and "Government24’s security was breached, yet notification was not made within 24 hours," Song (Chairman) replied, "I feel a heavy sense of responsibility and strongly empathize."

Song (Chairman) explained, "It is true that domestic personal information protection management systems are significantly lagging behind. Some issues have surfaced due to accumulated problems, and as the value of personal information in South Korea has risen considerably with economic development, it has become a more frequent target."

He added, "There is a separate ministry within the Personal Information Protection Commission responsible for managing security, and we are making every effort to transform this system."