The South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has initiated an amendment to the enforcement decree of the Personal Information Protection Act aimed at extending the right to data portability to the education and employment sectors.

The draft, submitted for public consultation from June 30 to August 10, allows individuals to request the transfer of their academic data (records, courses, grades, diplomas) held by universities and their employment-related information managed by organizations such as the Korean Employment Information Service. This extension of the right to data portability, already applicable to the medical, telecommunications, and energy sectors, is part of a progressive expansion plan that will include culture and leisure in 2026, then social affairs, transportation, real estate, and distribution in 2027.

The amendment also eases the obligations of entities that transfer data directly to the data subjects. They will be able to delegate to specialized intermediary agencies the verification of transfer requests and the maintenance of transfer records. The criteria for designation and the management framework of these agencies will also be specified to ensure the security of data transfers.