The European Commission is set to present an adequacy decision between the EU and South Korea. The two parties announced, on Tuesday 30 March, that they had successfully concluded their round of negotiations. In concrete terms, this recognition should allow the transfer of personal data without additional requirements.
In a joint statement, both sides recognised the high degree of convergence between the EU and South Korea on data protection. This convergence has been further strengthened by the entry into force of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) in August 2020 and the strengthening of the powers of the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) in Korea.
The European Commission’s adequacy decision will take the form of an implementing act. It will need an opinion from the European Data Protection Board and a green light from the Member States in committee. The Commission hopes that this process will be completed “within the next few months”.
The decision will cover transfers of personal data to commercial operators as well as to public authorities. It will complement the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and the Republic of Korea, which was formally ratified in December 2015. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)