Korea expands AI council to 42 agencies, reviews AI legislation framework

The Personal Information Protection Commission said Friday that the government's AI officer council broadened its membership to 42 central administrative agencies as it reviewed a national artificial intelligence legislative framework and moved to tighten public-sector handling of personal data.

At the fifth meeting of the Chief AI Officer council, chaired for the first time by Lee Hae-min, senior secretary to the president for AI future planning, participation grew from 28 minister-level agencies to 42 central administrative agencies, adding 14 vice-ministerial bodies including the Ministry of Personnel Management, the Ministry of Government Legislation and the National Data Office. The AI officers of the 42 agencies attended, along with 13 chairs of subcommittees, special committees and task forces.

The council, convened by the presidential National AI Strategy Committee, took up four agenda items: a legislative framework for AI drafted by the committee, preparations for the launch of the "AI for All" service presented by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the status of a government-wide data pipeline and requests for cooperation from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and a plan to strengthen personal information protection management in the public sector from the Personal Information Protection Commission.

The legislative framework sets out four basic directions: centering legislation on the AI Framework Act, closing legislative gaps in the defense and security fields, improving predictability for businesses, and responding immediately when AI causes side effects. It also presents legislative principles by area: AI development, the promotion of AI convergence, AI safety, securing trust and preventing AI misuse.

The science ministry shared preparations for the "AI for All" service and asked agencies to cooperate on linking existing open public APIs and opening additional closed APIs and data for public AI agents, setting standards for how AI agents process and use personal information, and verifying service security and safety.

The interior ministry asked agencies to register and share high-value data and to identify demand for composite data, following the opening of the government-wide data pipeline on Sept. 18.

The Personal Information Protection Commission, responding to a series of large hacking and data leak incidents in both the public and private sectors, discussed building a comprehensive personal information protection and security management system for each ministry and strengthening the role of chief privacy officers, requesting cooperation in preparing and carrying out practical measures including risk-based identification of information assets and stronger management of personnel who handle them.

"The CAIO council is a place that connects the seams between ministries," Lee said. "I will personally see to it, as chair, that the council does not stop at hearing reports but becomes a consultative body that coordinates and decides issues between ministries."

Lee added that the council will be run regularly so that all ministries, including the vice-ministerial agencies joining for the first time, can move as one team in the AI transformation, and that it will actively take up cooperation tasks proposed by ministries.