The government will double dedicated personal information protection staff at central ministries

[Financial News] As public institutions that collect and manage sensitive personal data, including resident registration numbers, asset information and medical records, have been causing data leaks through hacking and system errors, raising public concern, the government has decided to significantly expand dedicated personal information protection staff at public institutions.
The government said the move reflects its determination to strengthen safeguards for personal information systems and build a structure that can help prevent data leaks in the public sector by supporting data subjects in exercising their rights.
The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) said on the 25th that the Cabinet, at a meeting of the State Council of South Korea, approved an ad hoc organizational revision plan to secure dedicated personal information protection staff at central ministries. The measure will add 54 dedicated privacy staff members across 31 central administrative agencies.

This is the first time since the launch of the PIPC, and the first government-wide expansion of dedicated privacy staff in 11 years.
A full survey conducted by the PIPC in February on the staffing status for privacy protection across 653 public-sector organizations, including central administrative agencies, local governments, public institutions and provincial and metropolitan offices of education, found that public institutions had an average of just 1.9 staff members handling privacy protection. Of those, only 0.7 per institution were dedicated exclusively to privacy protection without handling other duties.
Under the revised ad hoc organizational structure, the average number of dedicated privacy staff at 31 central government ministries will double from 1.1 to 2.1.
By ministry, staffing will be reinforced mainly at MOIS, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Justice, the National Police Agency and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), all of which handle large volumes of personal data or hold a significant amount of sensitive information.
PIPC Chair Song Kyung-hee said, "I hope this staffing increase will serve as an opportunity for each ministry to build a system in which it takes responsibility for inspecting and managing its own areas."
Meanwhile, the PIPC plans to continue efforts to expand dedicated privacy staff not only at central ministries but also at local governments and public institutions, with the goal of completing a preventive privacy protection system across the public sector.
[email protected] Lee Gu-soon Reporter