South Korea Updates Privacy Security Guidelines With New Rules for Public Agencies & Guidance on AI

Key Takeaways

• Public-Sector Security Requirements: South Korea's PIPC has updated its guidance to explain requirements introduced July 1, 2026, obliging public-sector organizations to conduct vulnerability reviews and penetration tests more than once a year and address identified weaknesses.
• Authentication Methods: The revised guidelines expand the authentication methods covered from seven to twelve, including passkeys, QR codes and mobile application-based authentication.
• AI and Encryption: New material addresses artificial intelligence and post-quantum cryptography, while emphasizing secure encryption key management and warning against storing keys in plaintext in source code or configuration files.
• API Security: The commission has introduced guidance on secure API management and security measures to consider when system updates are delayed.

Deep Dive

South Korean public-sector organizations must now conduct security vulnerability reviews and penetration tests more than once a year, under regulatory requirements that the country's privacy watchdog has incorporated into newly updated guidance on protecting personal information.

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced the revised guidelines on November 5, adding explanations of the public-sector requirements alongside new material on artificial intelligence, authentication technologies, encryption and the security of application programming interfaces.

The testing requirements took effect on July 1, following amendments intended to prevent personal data breaches and other security incidents in public-sector systems. Organizations covered by the rules must also address weaknesses identified during their reviews and tests.

The updated Guidelines on How to Implement Privacy-Safeguarding Security Measures explain those obligations and provide practical examples for organizations responsible for protecting personal information. The commission has also expanded its frequently asked questions to address security problems arising from newer technologies and changes in how personal information is processed.

For public-sector organizations, the July amendments establish a recurring obligation to examine systems for vulnerabilities, test their defenses and address identified weaknesses. The revised guidance explains how those requirements should be carried out.

The PIPC has not disclosed how many public-sector organizations are subject to the requirements or provided figures on their implementation since July. Its announcement concentrates instead on the guidance being made available to help organizations comply. Much of the remaining revision concerns security practices that have changed as new technologies have entered routine use.

The commission has expanded its discussion of authentication from seven methods to twelve. Earlier guidance covered passwords, one-time passwords and SMS-based authentication, among other methods. The new version adds passkeys, QR codes and mobile application-based authentication.

Artificial intelligence has also been incorporated into the guidance through new examples. The announcement does not specify the applications examined or describe separate security obligations for AI systems. The commission has given particular attention to encryption, including the possible consequences of advances in quantum computing.

The updated guidelines discuss post-quantum cryptography in anticipation of potential changes to encryption systems. The PIPC has not announced a requirement for organizations to adopt a particular post-quantum encryption standard.

Its advice on encryption key management is more immediate. The commission warns that encryption keys should not be stored in plaintext within application source code or configuration files.

Such storage can expose the keys if those files are accessed without authorization, compromising the protection encryption is intended to provide. The guidance emphasizes secure storage and management of cryptographic keys as part of protecting personal information.

The commission has also added material on the security of application programming interfaces, which allow applications and servers to communicate and exchange information. The revisions introduce considerations for securely using and managing APIs, as well as measures to consider when system updates are delayed.

Those subjects appear in the updated frequently asked questions, which the PIPC said were developed with attention to the difficulties data controllers encounter when implementing security measures. Password requirements receive a further examination.

The commission notes that requiring users to change their passwords too frequently can encourage the use of simpler passwords, producing an unintended security weakness. The revised guidance addresses that concern as part of its discussion of password-setting practices and developments internationally. The observation does not amount to a new prohibition on mandatory password changes. It is included among the explanations intended to help organizations determine how security measures should be applied.

Sangmin Lee, director-general of the PIPC's Personal Information Protection Policy Bureau, said the updated guidelines should help privacy practitioners better understand security measures and reduce difficulties in implementing them. Lee said the commission would continue updating the material to account for changes in technology and personal data processing.

The revisions bring the guidance into line with regulatory requirements already introduced for public-sector systems while extending its treatment of technologies that have become more prominent in authentication, data exchange and encryption.

Further updates are planned, according to the commission. It has not announced a timetable for those revisions or identified which additional technologies they might address.

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