Personal Information Protection Commission

Press Release

The PIPC Supports the Use of AI and Data in the Public Interest: AI-Based Voice Phishing Scam Detection Service 

- An AI-based voice phishing scam prevention service featuring context analysis and voice recognition technology is launched for the first time in the country, supporting the effective use of AI and data to combat crimes that directly affect people’s livelihoods

July 29, 2025

(This is an unofficial translation of a press release, originally prepared in Korean.)

A voice phishing detection service powered by artificial intelligence (AI) will be rolled out in the Korean market for the first time. This service detects a phishing incident based on real voice phishing call data. When a call is flagged, it will compare a voice with voice recognition technology to identify whether it is generated by Deep Voice.

Statistics showed that the number of voice phishing scams in 2024 rose by about 10% year on-year, from 18,902 to 20,839. The amount of damage nearly doubled to KRW 854.5 billion compared to KRW 447.2 billion in 2023. Amid the growing and sophisticated phishing threats, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has been making efforts to preemptively detect and block voice phishing scams using AI and data across sectors.

As part of its endeavors, the PIPC took the lead in signing an MoU on Tackling Voice Phishing Scams to develop AI-based technology with five other ministries and agencies in June 2024. The engaged regulators are:

● Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT); 

● Financial Services Commission; 

● Financial Supervisory Service; 

● National Forensic Service (NFS); and 

● Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). 

This MoU enables the call data held by the NFS to be converted into text and de-identified to align with the special case for pseudonymization under the PIPA. Then, such processed data is safely used to develop and train an AI model for context analysis.

The MSIT ‘s ICT Regulatory Sandbox Program designated a voice phishing detection service with voice recognition technology in the same year. This service extracts the original voice data of suspicious scammers from voice phishing call data held by the NFS in an irrevocable manner, and then KT Corporation (KT) embeds the processed data into a device as on device AI to compare it with the voice on a call.

Following the designation, the PIPC worked closely with KT and the NFS to look into the service configuration process and reviewed the service structure, data processing mechanisms and flows, and its plans on how to respect the rights of data subjects, and put safeguards in place. As a result, the thorough review was completed on July 22, 2025, supporting the official service launch. 

KT said, “We analyzed the traffic generated by our in-context voice phishing detection service launched in January 2025, and the analysis showed that pre-launched service has 91.6% of accuracy in detection, with voice phishing prevention effects worth KRW 71 billion. If this service is featured with voice recognition technology, the accuracy of detecting voice phishing scams will be significantly improved.”

Meanwhile, the PIPC concluded its deliberations on Prior Adequacy Review Results of two AI-powered voice phishing detection services developed by SK Telecomm Co., Ltd. (SKT), LG Uplus Corp. (LG U+) and KT in September 2024, and July 2025, respectively. Mobile carriers developed an AI model trained on incoming and outgoing phishing call patterns from the numbers provided by investigative agencies. Then they use this model to predict suspicious numbers associated with such crime and share the prediction results with financial institutions to block a flagged transaction accordingly.

In this context, the expanded scope of such services will result in a significant drop in the number of voice phishing scams, which is expected through a close cooperation system between investigative agencies, mobile carriers, and financial institutions.

Chairperson Haksoo Ko of the PIPC said, “Eradicating voice phishing scams that directly affect people’s livelihoods requires close collaboration between relevant ministries and agencies across various sectors.” He added, “The PIPC is going to make best efforts to lay the groundwork for the effective use of data in the public interest.”

* A PDF file, formatted for better readability, is attached.