Toss Income, a unit of Viva Republica, has become the first company in the tax platform sector to receive certification for its information security and personal information protection management system.

Toss Income said on Sunday it obtained ISMS-P, the information security and personal information protection management system certification. It marks the first ISMS-P certification in South Korea’s tax platform industry.

ISMS-P is an information security and personal information protection management system certification scheme operated by the Korea Internet & Security Agency under standards jointly announced by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Personal Information Protection Commission. To obtain certification, companies must pass a total of 101 control items, including establishing and operating a management system, required protection measures and requirements for each stage of personal information processing.

The certification comes as discussions proceed on making ISMS-P certification mandatory for large-scale personal information processors. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Personal Information Protection Commission in April announced measures to strengthen the effectiveness of the ISMS-P certification system and are pushing to mandate ISMS-P certification for large-scale personal information processors, differentiate certification standards, and tighten screening and follow-up management, aiming for implementation in 2027.

Toss Income said it obtained the certification voluntarily ahead of any mandate and pre-emptively checked its information security management system as an operator that handles high-risk personal information.

Hwang Ji-sang (황지상), Toss Income's chief information security officer, said the ISMS-P certification was the result of rigorous verification against external standards of responsibility for the sensitive information handled by Toss Income. He said the company would do its best to maintain a security environment that users, policy authorities and related institutions can trust.