The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) of South Korea announced the adoption by the National Assembly of an amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act, establishing a derogation for the use of personal data in the development of artificial intelligence.

This amendment, adopted on August 20, 2026, addresses the difficulties encountered in the development of artificial intelligence due to the limitations of the current legislation, which required separate consent, a specific legal basis, or the use of pseudonymized or anonymized data. The new derogation authorizes the use of legally collected personal data for the development of artificial intelligence technologies under several cumulative conditions: when pseudonymized or anonymized data are insufficient, for recognized public or social interest reasons, and subject to the implementation of enhanced security measures as well as deliberation and decision by the PIPC.

The text includes safeguards to minimize privacy risks. A prior risk assessment is mandatory for the processing of sensitive data or unique identifiers. Companies benefiting from this derogation must inform the public through their data processing policy, and the PIPC will publish a status report on the application of this regime on its website. A simplified review procedure is also provided for cases similar to those already approved. The law will enter into force six months after its promulgation, during which the PIPC will develop the implementing decrees.