South Korea has introduced its first comprehensive framework for managing personal data in artificial intelligence development, as global regulators grapple with balancing innovation and privacy.
The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) released draft guidelines in August 2025, designed to address legal uncertainties surrounding the use of publicly available data in training generative AI models. The measures set out a roadmap for both privacy protection and lawful data processing, claims PPC.
At the core of the guidelines is the concept of “legitimate interests” as a legal basis for processing publicly accessible data. Developers must show the legitimacy of purpose, necessity of data processing, and proper assessment of competing interests between data subjects and processors. For example, when developing medical diagnostic systems, AI developers should avoid collecting irrelevant information such as individual income or property data.
The commission also detailed a series of technical safeguards. These include dataset source verification, secure storage, de-identification, machine unlearning techniques, and filtering functions to reduce risks of personal data leaks. At the model level, the guidelines cover fine-tuning, alignment procedures, and prompt/output filtering to maintain data integrity.
Organisations developing AI systems are expected to meet administrative requirements such as conducting Privacy Impact Assessments and incorporating safeguards into privacy policies. The guidelines also recommend forming AI Privacy Red Teams to monitor vulnerabilities and risks.
Stakeholder consultation has played a central role in shaping the framework. Professor Byoung Pil Kim of KAIST, who led one of the subcommittees advising the PIPC, said, “it is part of our endeavors to meet halfway between protecting personal data and encouraging AI-driven innovation. This will be a great guidance material for the development and usage of trustworthy AI.”
Industry voices have also welcomed the initiative. LG AI Research head and Advisory Council co-chairperson Kyunghoon Bae said, “the guideline provides a lawful basis to safely process personal data from publicly available data to mitigate legal uncertainties in developing AI technologies.”
PIPC chairperson Haksoo Ko underlined the importance of the new framework, noting that “clarification is not sufficient enough as to how to ensure legality and safety in using publicly available data for AI model training, even though AI technology is advancing at an exponential rate.”
The draft guidelines take effect immediately, though the commission has committed to periodic updates reflecting technological progress. Future refinements will draw on insights from academia, industry, and civil society, alongside enforcement activities such as inspections of AI services.
The framework positions South Korea alongside major jurisdictions including the United States and European Union, which are also moving to codify standards for AI-related data use. The PIPC stressed that its approach aims to be interoperable with global regulations while adapted to local conditions, supporting compliance across the full AI development lifecycle.
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