**Personal Information Committee Full Meeting… Adjustment of Mandatory Target Companies to ‘1.5 Trillion Won in Revenue and 1 Million Data Subjects’**
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Sangseo Lee = The insurance premiums for the liability system compensating damages for companies that experienced personal information leaks are expected to decrease, while the coverage scope will expand.
The Personal Information Protection Commission announced on the 27th that these details of the ‘Rationalization Plan for the Personal Information Damage Liability Assurance System’ were reported at the full meeting the day before.
This system mandates that companies unable to compensate for personal information leaks must take necessary measures, such as purchasing insurance, joining a mutual aid society, or setting aside reserves, to ensure relief for those affected.
Previously, the system mandated companies with sales over 1 billion won and handling information on more than 10,000 individuals to comply. However, the scope was criticized as being too broad, making effective inspection and management difficult. Additionally, the coverage was limited compared to the premiums paid, and low awareness was cited as a cause for the lack of compensation cases.
In response, the commission gathered opinions from experts and related organizations to prepare measures for reasonable system overhaul, improvement of premiums and coverage scope, and increasing awareness.
First, the criteria for mandatory companies will be adjusted to “sales of 1.5 trillion won or more and managing information for over 1 million individuals,” and the Personal Information Protection Act enforcement decree will be revised accordingly.
Jeong-Ah Lee, the committee’s dispute resolution officer, explained in a briefing that while the number of companies obligated under the current system is quite broad at 83,000 to 38,000, with the improvement, only about 200 companies will be targeted.
For companies not under obligation, incentives will be activated to encourage voluntary insurance enrollment.
Additionally, in collaboration with the casualty insurance industry, premiums will be reduced by approximately 50% starting this year, and the insurance coverage range will be expanded.
Specifically, the activation of group insurance will be guided to lower premiums, and it will be clearly specified in the insurance terms that the coverage range includes settlement amounts through the committee’s dispute resolutions.
Furthermore, opinions will be gathered from the Chief Privacy Officers (CPO) conference and related organizations, and explanatory sessions will be held to provide information on the related system.
The officer said, “Reducing fines when a company that experienced a data breach compensates for damage is a notable example of (insurance subscription) incentive,” adding, “We will cooperate with the insurance industry to expand ‘special insurance products’ that also guarantee fines.”