The government will launch an interagency council on "MyData" with the private sector to overhaul related laws and establish a medical data transmission system between transmitters and recipients by 2024. The authorities will also expand the scope of individuals’ medical data use.
The Personal Information Protection Commission organized the “Pan-Government MyData Council” to discuss the direction of the MyData policy and held its first meeting on Tuesday.
MyData is a system in which the subject of information actively manages and utilizes personal information according to the will of the information subject by transmitting personal information about them to the place they want.
The commission launched the council to establish a full-fledged promotion system to introduce and expand MyData, following a similar launch of the Pan-Government MyData Promotion Team' in July, in which personnel from eight ministries participated and carried out practical work.
The council is the highest-level MyData council established by a Prime Ministerial decree, where the public and private sectors gather to discuss policy directions, including system design and leading projects, and to consult and coordinate issues.
The chairman of the Personal Information Protection Commission chairs the council. It comprises 26 members: 13 civilian members from industry, academia, law, and civil society organizations and vice minister-level officials from 12 related ministries.
Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo participates in the commission. Among the 13 civilian members are Kakao Healthcare CEO Hwang Hee, representing the healthcare industry, and Professor Choi Se-won, at Seoul National University Hospital's Office of Informatization.
The inaugural meeting discussed major issues and implementation plans for the promotion of personal data in all fields, including;
● Phased expansion of personal data by field
● Preparation of institutional procedures and standards
● Establishment of platform and transmission infrastructure
● Promotion of pioneering projects.
The participants decided to establish a transmission system between the transmission obligor and the recipient in parallel with the designation of a specialized relay agency in the second half of 2024 after establishing standards for the transmission obligor and transmission items, overhauling related laws, including the Enforcement Decree of the Personal Information Protection Act, by the first half of 2024, and finalizing transmission technology standards.
In the healthcare sector, the health information highway, which allows users to easily check their medical treatment, medication, medical examination, diagnosis, and surgery history, was launched in September with the participation of 860 medical institutions, including nine high-level general hospitals.
The health information highway allows users to easily view, store, and transmit personal medical data scattered in various places, such as medical institutions, with their consent.
However, concerns remain about medical MyData, such as the health information highway. The medical community is concerned about the risk of third-party accumulation of medical data because a significant amount of medical data is information containing medical judgment.
On the other hand, the industry argues that personalized healthcare using medical data and various services is possible, especially if connected to smartphone sensors.
Civic groups emphasize the sovereignty of patients' medical information in the use of medical data, maintaining that consent procedures and safeguards against abuse should be ensured as sensitive information is handled.
Medical sources said that as the government moves forward with discussions on MyData by 2024 through a public-private council, it will also reignite an intense debate in the healthcare sector.