South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said on Thursday the proposed 2027 budget reflects total spending of 99.6 billion won, comprising 83.8 billion won from the general account and 15.8 billion won from funds. That is up 37 percent from 72.9 billion won this year. The PIPC said next year's budget will largely be used for priority projects including expanding prevention systems, safe use of AX innovation, boosting public rights, responding to personal information breach and leak incidents, and tasks for locally led growth.

Of that, the budget for expanding prevention systems is 7.3 billion won, up 137 percent from 3.1 billion won in 2026. The PIPC plans to allocate 3.1 billion won to create a self-regulatory environment for personal information protection and newly allocate 4.3 billion won to build a pre-emptive prevention system, aiming to reduce personal information risks through building protection systems and pre-emptive checks.

The budget for safe use of AX innovation is 2.2 billion won, up 51 percent from 1.4 billion won in 2026. It includes 1.4 billion won to build a personal information protection cooperation system and 800,000,000 won to build an AX privacy risk management system. The PIPC said it will promote safe cross-border data transfers and, with the introduction of a special provision for using original AI data, allow the use of personal information on the premise of tailored safety measures when developing AI technology.

For responding to personal information breach and leak incidents and strengthening security, the budget includes 8.0 billion won for preventing personal information infringements, 1.6 billion won for litigation support at the commission, and 600,000,000 won to support investigations into personal information incidents. In particular, the litigation support budget doubles from 800,000,000 won this year. It also includes funding needed to strengthen specialised capabilities for investigations and inspections, including operating a digital forensics center and a technical analysis center.

The budget reflects 5.3 billion won to support safe data use, 2.0 billion won for technology development for trustworthy AI personal information protection and use, 8.2 billion won for development of leading technologies for safe personal information use, 2.0 billion won for developing global personal information protection standards, 4.0 billion won to train specialists in personal information protection and use, and 2.0 billion won for developing technologies for safe prevention across the full personal information lifecycle.

The PIPC said it plans to make intensive investment in research and development projects on personal information protection and use to support locally led growth tasks and develop innovative technologies in the AI era. It said it allocated 9.7 billion won to guarantee the right to demand personal information transfer, supporting the creation of a safe MyData ecosystem.

Funding of 15.8 billion won was reflected in an integrated fund promoted by the Office of Planning and Budget, tentatively named the Public Interest Reporting Promotion Fund, to enhance public rights. Specifically, it comprises 9.4 billion won for rewards for reporting personal information leaks, 5.1 billion won to operate systems to prevent and curb the spread of personal information 피해, and 1.3 billion won for a pilot programme to support recovery from personal information 피해. It is expected to be used for restoring public 피해 and providing rights relief.

PIPC Chairperson Kyung-hee Song (송경희) said, "The 2027 budget plan focused on solidifying a prevention-centred personal information protection system through pre-emptive status checks and enhancing the rights and interests of people who suffered damages from personal information leaks." She added, "We will continue to create an environment where valuable personal information can be protected and used safely."