Personal Information Protection Commission

Joint Press Statement by Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice of the European Commission, and Yoon Jong In, Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission of the Republic of Korea

Brussels/Seoul, 17 December 2021

Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders and Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission Yoon Jong In welcome the adoption of the European Commission’s adequacy decision for the transfer of personal data from the European Union to the Republic of Korea under the General Data Protection Regulation.

After the conclusion of the adequacy talks in March 2021, today’s adoption of the decision marks the final step in the process and confirms the shared commitment of the EU and the Republic of Korea to a high level of data protection.

Based on the decision, personal data will be able to travel safely from the EU to the Republic of Korea to the benefit of citizens and economies on both sides, without any need for further authorisations or additional tools. The adequacy decision builds on the strong protections for Europeans under Korean law when their data is transferred, including through the additional safeguards that were agreed as part of the adequacy dialogue.

The adequacy decision will complement the EU - Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement with respect to personal data flows. As such, it shows that, in the digital era, promoting high privacy and personal data protection standards and facilitating international trade can go hand in hand.

Moreover, by covering data exchanges between public authorities, the adequacy decision will also facilitate regulatory cooperation.

Both sides agree that the adequacy finding provides a unique opportunity to strengthen the strategic partnership between the EU and the Republic of Korea in this area, bilaterally and in multilateral fora.