South Korea's technology industry is raising alarms as the ruling party accelerates efforts to strengthen corporate liability for personal data breaches, following recent legislation introducing punitive fines for such violations.
According to political and industry sources on Monday, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea plans to advance a second round of amendments to the Personal Information Protection Act. The push centers on bills separately proposed by lawmakers Kim Yong-min, Park Beom-kye, and Han Jung-ae.
The Personal Information Protection Commission, the agency overseeing the legislation, will request the National Policy Committee to bypass full committee deliberation and refer the amendment directly to the legislation subcommittee for expedited passage. The move signals the government's determination to crack down on lax data management practices, alongside first-round amendments set to take effect in September.
The proposed amendments include high-intensity regulatory measures: removing the "intentional or negligent" clause from statutory damages requirements, creating new penalties for illegal distribution of leaked personal data, introducing data preservation orders, and imposing enforcement fines for non-cooperation with investigations or failure to comply with corrective orders.
The information and communications technology sector has denounced the proposals as clear "excessive regulation." Under current law, data processors can claim exemption by proving absence of intent or negligence. If the amendments pass, companies seeking to avoid liability would need to directly prove they were not at fault.
The Korea Internet Corporations Association stated, "In environments processing massive traffic and data, it is often technically impossible to perfectly trace breach pathways and identify specific causes after incidents occur." The association warned the legislation "could incentivize companies to shift blame onto users as a defensive strategy."
The group firmly opposed the bill, calling it "excessive regulation that imposes no-fault liability on companies that are themselves victims of illegal intrusions such as external hacking."
Concerns were also raised about expanded regulatory authority infringing on corporate property rights. The association argued, "If data preservation demands flood in at the mere suspicion stage—before criminal charges or breach circumstances are confirmed—companies will inevitably face enormous resource burdens responding to them."
Critics warn the strengthened regulatory framework will increase social costs and undermine artificial intelligence industry development. Professor Lim Kyu-chul of Dongguk University said, "If these amendments pass, a flood of lawsuits is as predictable as fire." He added, "This directly contradicts the government's AI promotion policies by restricting data utilization, which is core to AI advancement."