The Busan Metropolitan Government and Busan Techno Park are establishing a data cooperation framework among local public institutions. Through a "Pseudonymized Data Utilization Alliance" that simultaneously strengthens personal information protection and data utilization, the city aims to expand the foundation for digital administration.
Busan Metropolitan Government and Busan Techno Park announced Thursday that they will launch a "Pseudonymized Data Utilization Alliance" targeting local public institutions.
The alliance is being promoted to deepen understanding of pseudonymized data utilization and to establish an inter-agency cooperation framework, centered on institutions holding public data such as local public enterprises, public corporations, and public agencies. Through this initiative, the city plans to build a foundation for the safe utilization of public data and strengthen its capacity for data-driven policy administration.
Pseudonymized data refers to data processed by deleting or replacing parts of personal information so that specific individuals cannot be identified without additional information. Because it can be used for policy development, research, and industrial innovation while maintaining personal information protection, its utilization value is rising in both the public and private sectors.
In particular, data held by public institutions is considered a key resource for addressing regional issues such as transportation, welfare, safety, and the environment. However, conflicts often arise between personal information protection regulations and the need for data utilization, making the establishment of a safe utilization framework a long-standing challenge.
The city plans to hold the alliance's kick-off meeting Thursday afternoon at the Busan Pseudonymized Data Utilization Support Center in Haeundae-gu, where it will conduct training and opinion-gathering programs for participating institutions.
The training will cover the necessity of pseudonymized data utilization from the perspective of public data provision, the support system of the Personal Information Protection Commission, and the operation of the one-stop support center. The program will also discuss the concept and potential applications of "synthetic data," which generates similar data without using actual personal information.
After the meeting, the city plans to identify each participating institution's data utilization demands and on-site difficulties to establish institutional and technical support systems. Going forward, the city plans to gradually expand participating institutions and broaden the scope of cooperation to include consulting and training on pseudonymized data utilization, as well as joint project planning.
"Safe data utilization technologies such as pseudonymized data and synthetic data are key elements of digital administration and data-driven policy implementation," said Kim Dong-hyun, Director General of the Future Technology Strategy Bureau at Busan Metropolitan Government. "We will work with local public institutions to build a trust-based data utilization ecosystem."
