The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has released South Korea’s first detailed guidelines on personal information processing for the development and use of generative artificial intelligence, aiming to resolve legal uncertainty and strengthen privacy safeguards across the AI lifecycle.

Unveiled at an open seminar on August 6 in Seoul, the “Personal Information Processing Guide for the Development and Use of Generative AI” outlines legal considerations and minimum safety measures for companies and institutions at each stage of AI creation and deployment. The guidance applies to a range of use cases, from integrating commercial large language models like ChatGPT to fine-tuning open-source models such as Llama or developing proprietary systems.

The guidelines break the AI lifecycle into four stages — goal setting, strategy establishment, learning and development, and application and management — with specific privacy and safety requirements at each step. Recommendations include clarifying the legal basis for AI training data, addressing risks such as data contamination and jailbreaks, managing AI agents responsibly, and ensuring data subject rights. Organizations are encouraged to establish governance led by a Chief Privacy Officer to embed privacy protection throughout operations.

Drawing on prior policy work, regulatory sandbox cases, and inspections, the PIPC also addresses high-uncertainty issues such as when AI can legally process user personal information. The guide reflects emerging AI trends, including AI agents, knowledge distillation, and machine unlearning, and will be regularly updated to keep pace with technological and policy changes.

PIPC Chair Koh Hak-soo said the guidance “will resolve legal uncertainty in the field and systematically reflect the perspective of personal information protection” while enabling “privacy and innovation to coexist.”

The move comes as South Korea leverages its rich datasets in sectors like healthcare and finance to develop AI, amid growing concerns about potential privacy violations.

Need Help?

If you’re concerned or have questions about how to navigate the South Korean or global AI regulatory landscape, don’t hesitate to reach out to BABL AI. Their Audit Experts can offer valuable insight and ensure you’re informed and compliant.