KT said on May 21 it will set up a Personal Information Protection Advisory Committee to respond to changes in the personal data processing environment, restore customer trust and build a responsible data use ecosystem.

The company said the advisory committee is a strategic governance initiative to strengthen a preemptive, prevention-focused personal information management system.

KT said it formed its inaugural advisory panel with personal information protection experts in areas including policy and law, technology and security, industry and services, and ethics and user protection. It also plans to continue expanding the committee. Members include Heung-yeol Yeom (염흥열), an emeritus professor in the Department of Information Security at Soonchunhyang University; Hee-jung Lee (이희정), a professor at Korea University Law School; Jae-cheol Ryu (류재철), a professor in the Division of Computer Convergence at Chungnam National University; Ki-uk Son (손기욱), a professor in the Department of Computer Engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology; Sang-hyun Shim (심상현), secretary general of the Korea CPO Forum; and Kyung-ha Kim (김경하), head of JN Security.

The committee will advise on key matters to strengthen KT's personal information protection capabilities. These include ways to strengthen fulfillment of obligations and accountability as a personal information processor, security safeguards and the appropriateness of data use, and measures to upgrade systems to prevent personal data leak incidents and stop recurrence.

KT will launch the committee this month and begin full-scale operations. The launch ceremony will be attended by KT chief executive Yoon-young Park (박윤영), who will present letters of appointment to advisers and discuss the direction of efforts to upgrade the personal information protection system.

Chang-oh Kim (김창오), an executive director and head of KT's Personal Information Protection Group and CPO, said, "In the AI era, securing customer trust in personal information protection is more important than anything else, just as much as innovation in data use." He said, "Through close cooperation with outside experts, we will build a global-level personal information protection system and create a data trust environment where customers can feel safe."