The South Korean authority, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), has initiated an assessment of the United Kingdom's data protection framework with a view to a decision recognizing its level of protection as equivalent.

This process, launched in October, aims to evaluate whether the UK legislation, control mechanisms, and data subject rights provide a level of protection substantially equivalent to that of South Korea, in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act. A positive decision would allow Korean companies and public bodies to transfer personal data to the United Kingdom without having to implement additional safeguards. This process follows a first equivalence recognition granted to the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) in September 2025. Reciprocally, the EU recognized the South Korean level of protection in 2021, a decision confirmed in July 2026. The choice of the United Kingdom was motivated by economic cooperation, similarity of legal frameworks, and willingness to cooperate. The agreement with the EU was estimated to potentially increase trade by up to 32.9 billion dollars (approximately 47,000 billion won), with similar benefits expected.