Sejong: Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon announced that the government plans to impose punitive fines on businesses experiencing repeated data breaches, amid increasing concerns over personal information security. The announcement was made during a policy briefing by the Ministry of Science and ICT to President Lee Jae Myung.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Minister Bae emphasized the need to establish a responsibility-based system by enforcing punitive fines on companies with recurrent security issues. This measure comes in response to data breaches reported this year, affecting South Koreans and involving major companies like SK Telecom Co., KT Corp., and Coupang Inc.
The ministry's plan includes codifying the responsibilities of chief executive officers under relevant laws and enhancing the authority of chief security officers. Companies with repeated breaches could face fines of up to 3 percent of their annual sales. The Personal Information Protection Commission is considering raising this ceiling. Additionally, fines for delayed breach reporting will increase from 30 million won to 50 million won (approximately US$339,000).
The ministry aims to motivate the market to avoid businesses with inadequate security controls by assessing and publicly disclosing companies' security capabilities. On the global front, the science minister outlined plans to develop one of the world's top 10 AI models by next year, to be released as open source for defense, manufacturing, and cultural applications.
Minister Bae also highlighted the "K-Moonshot project," focusing on high-risk research critical for South Korea's future. By 2030, the country aims to reach 85 percent of the United States' technology level, up from 81.5 percent in 2022. Efforts will focus on securing technologies in humanoids, next-generation chips, rare earth materials, and affordable clean energy.
The government also plans to invest 5.9 trillion won (US$4 billion) in strategic areas such as bio, quantum, and nuclear fusion projects, to accelerate their commercialization. During the session, Minister Bae underscored the importance of implementing a punitive damages system for data leaks to prevent incidents that harm the public and financial sector.
The punitive damages system aims to impose compensation beyond actual damages to deter repeat offenses. "The joint investigation team of the government and private sector will promptly and sternly conduct an investigation and take necessary measures," Bae stated, adding that a comprehensive plan, including the punitive damages system, will be prepared within this year.