The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea hosted a policy dialogue Friday with Personal Information Protection Commission Chairperson Song Kyung-hee to discuss Korea’s data protection policies and the evolving role of trusted data use in the artificial intelligence era.
The session, held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, brought together about 80 representatives from AmCham member companies and the broader business community.
During the event, Song outlined the government’s policy direction for Korea’s personal data protection framework in 2026 and discussed ways to balance data utilization and privacy safeguards as digital services and AI adoption accelerate.
AmCham Chairman and CEO James Kim said deeper cooperation between Korea and the United States will be essential as both countries place AI at the center of their economic strategies.
“Strengthening regulatory interoperability — particularly in areas such as data governance and cross-border data flows — will be essential to unlocking this potential,” Kim said.
He noted that AmCham’s 2026 Korea Business Environment Survey showed more than 65 percent of respondents view Korea’s regulatory environment as restrictive, underscoring the importance of continued regulatory reform.
The PIPC said it plans to build a strategic governance framework to ensure safe cross-border data transfers amid the rapid expansion of digital services. The framework will introduce internationally recognized mechanisms such as Standard Contractual Clauses and Binding Corporate Rules, along with safeguards including data transfer impact assessments.
Multinational companies from sectors including global platforms, IT and financial services also shared industry perspectives on Korea’s data protection policies.
Song emphasized that trust-based international data cooperation is becoming increasingly important as data flows more freely across borders, adding that Korea will continue efforts to align its data protection environment with global standards.
The AmCham Policy Talks series aims to facilitate dialogue between policymakers and the international business community on key regulatory issues affecting Korea’s business environment.
stlee0329@heraldcorp.com
