Discussions have begun in earnest on establishing a legal foundation for "public-interest data" to support the use of AI for public purposes.

The National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy Committee said on Tuesday it recently held a "Seminar on Legislating Public-Interest Data Governance" hosted by its social affairs subcommittee. The seminar reviewed legal and institutional tasks to support the use of data for public-interest purposes and discussed directions for future revisions.

Presentations at the seminar shared domestic and overseas policy trends and key issues. The seminar introduced a range of field-based use cases that have been accumulated, including sign language video AI datasets, data supporting mobility rights for people with disabilities, patient-led public-interest data, and civic hacking cases based on citizen participation.

Discussions cited key tasks including building a system to continuously accumulate public-interest data, unclear responsibility for management, the need to balance personal data protection with public-interest use, and institutional limits to data linkage among relevant ministries.

Lim Moon-young (임문영), the committee's standing vice chair, said, "Public-interest data is a core foundation that supports the basic AI society and social innovation, beyond simple data disclosure." He added, "Based on discussions at this seminar, the committee will cooperate with relevant ministries and the National Assembly to support the establishment of a legal and institutional foundation for public-interest data."