Korea privacy watchdog opens public debate on AI data rules

The Personal Information Protection Commission said it will hold the third "Everyone's Debate" on Nov. 1 at Yonsei University's Baekyang Nuri hall in Seoul, bringing about 200 citizens together with government officials to discuss how personal information should be protected and used in the age of artificial intelligence.

The event, co-hosted with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, is titled "In the AI Era, How Should We Protect and Use Personal Information?" Two senior presidential aides, Lee Hae-min for AI future planning and Jeon Seong-hwan for integrated listening, will attend to hear citizens directly.

Ahead of the on-site session, an online debate ran for two weeks and drew about 1,200 participants. Its results will be presented to the 200 attendees on Nov. 1, and the proceedings will be streamed live on KTV's YouTube channel, with participants able to register views on disputed points through mobile voting in real time.

The commission has framed three questions for the discussion: what new value personal information creates in an AI environment; whether the current consent-based system should shift toward prior notice followed by an anytime right to refuse; and how companies, the government and citizens should divide responsibilities in building trust.

Two academics will open the session. Kim Do-seung, a law professor at Jeonbuk National University who heads the Korea Privacy Law Association, will walk through the data-processing landscape and the legal conditions for handling personal information. Kim Byung-pil of KAIST's technology management department, who leads a privacy task force under a public-private AI council, will analyze where current rules collide with how AI systems actually process data.

Citizens will then break into smaller groups to discuss the benefits and concerns they encounter in everyday use of personal data before a floor debate.

"I hope the third Everyone's Debate this year becomes an open venue for communication where citizens' valuable experience and wisdom come together to drive substantive policy change," Vice Interior Minister Kim Min-jae said. "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will always listen in order to make policies that add to public convenience."

Song Kyung-hee, chair of the Personal Information Protection Commission, said the goal of privacy policy is not to block the use of all personal information but to allow it to be used safely so that everyone can enjoy technological progress with confidence. The commission will keep listening to public opinion and pursue privacy rules suited to the AI era.