The European Commission has concluded its first review of its 2021 decision allowing personal data to flow freely from the EU to the Republic of Korea, saying South Korea continues to provide an adequate level of protection for that information.
The “adequacy decision” is an EU finding that a non-EU country’s data protection rules provide safeguards comparable to the bloc’s, permitting transfers without additional authorisations, the EU executive announced on Thursday.
The Commission said the EU and South Korean data protection frameworks have moved closer since the 2021 decision, including through amendments to South Korean law that strengthened the rights of people whose data is processed.
The review also sets out recommendations to strengthen some safeguards in South Korea’s system, including around onward transfers of data to third countries and enforcement.
Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, stated that the EU and Korea’s data protection frameworks are “closer than ever” and that the adequacy decision brings benefits for businesses and citizens.
Trade and data flows
The Commission said mutual data flows between the EU and Korea benefit more than 500 million people and support a trade relationship worth more than €150 billion a year.
It added that the data arrangement complements the EU–South Korea Free Trade Agreement and a Digital Trade Agreement.
Michael McGrath, the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection, said “trusted data flows” are central to the digital economy and that strong data protection and open trade “reinforce one another.”
