South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission will accept third-round applications from Aug. 11 to 31 for support in prior consultations for data transmission request agents.

The commission said the third round is intended to identify additional demand from companies and institutions that have not yet applied for prior consultations, after pilot operations in the first and second rounds confirmed demand for scraping across various fields. It said applications are open this time not only to previously eligible applicants but also to small businesses and businesses without mydata qualifications.

A data transmission request agent refers, under the mydata system of the Personal Information Protection Act, to a third party such as a company or institution that can request a personal information controller or public institution to transmit a person's own information on behalf of the data subject.

Companies and institutions seeking prior consultations can submit an application form through On MyData or the government's civil petition portal. Details can be found in the notices section of the commission's website.

The commission said it plans to use the third application period to identify demand more broadly, including needs not yet confirmed, and support efforts to ensure necessary services are not left out during the transition process.

Scraping is a method in which an agent logs into an institution's system and retrieves information using a user's ID, password or authentication information, and it has been used in various fields. It offers the advantage of enabling services to be developed conveniently and quickly, but it also carries security risks, such as entrusting authentication information to a third party or the possibility of accessing personal information beyond what is needed.

The commission stressed that the system improvement is not aimed at uniformly banning such scraping. It said the key is to guarantee data use and services needed by the public as much as possible while making the process of transferring personal information safer.

The commission said it will use prior consultations to identify what information is actually needed for existing services. It said it will support a shift when an immediate switch to a safer method is possible, and pursue a phased transition when a preparation period is needed.

For companies and institutions that apply within the support deadline for prior consultations, the commission said it will support the temporary continuation of existing methods while consultations are under way. It said it will also support consultations so that data transmitters and agents can 마련 a safe transmission method. The commission explained that businesses currently providing services using scraping need to actively apply for prior consultations during the third application period.

Yang Cheong-sam (양청삼), the commission's secretary general, said the purpose of the data transmission request right system is not to suddenly stop services people have been using, but to continue necessary services while changing the method of transmitting personal information to make it safer. He said companies and institutions that are currently providing services through scraping but have not yet applied should actively seek prior consultations during this period and join the safe transition.