Korea privacy watchdog to host global AI privacy forum in Seoul

The Personal Information Protection Commission said Monday it will hold a Global AI Privacy Forum on Sept. 29 at the EL Tower in Yangjae, Seoul, gathering data protection authorities, international organizations and industry experts from Korea and abroad.

The forum will be held under the theme "Privacy for Innovation, Partnership for Cooperation."

Among those attending are Philippe Dufresne, chair of the Global Privacy Assembly and head of Canada's Office of the Privacy Commissioner; the European Data Protection Supervisor; Japan's Personal Information Protection Commission; Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data; and the World Bank. Executives and experts from Microsoft, Meta, Sony and Korean fintech Toss will also take part.

Sony Group's global head of AI governance, Alice Xiang, and Kim Hyun-woo, a professor at KAIST, will deliver keynote speeches.

The program is built around two main sessions and a special session. The first, "Innovation Powered by Privacy," will be presented by commission chair Song Kyung-hee and Stefano Fratta, Meta's vice president for privacy policy. The second, "Readiness Powered by Cooperation," will be led by Kim Sang-bu, a World Bank vice president. A special session, "Growing up with AI," will address the rights of children and adolescents.

"Personal information protection in the age of artificial intelligence is not a barrier standing in the way of AI innovation, but a foundation that allows innovation to continue on the basis of trust," Song said.

"Through this forum, we will further strengthen cooperation with privacy regulators, international organizations and experts from industry and academia in each country, and take the lead in establishing global privacy norms and a cooperation framework in which AI innovation and personal data protection can advance together," she added.