[theqoo] REPRESENTATIVE LEE SOOJIN PROPOSES BILL TO RESTRICT UNAUTHORIZED COLLECTION OF BIOMETRIC INFORMATION BY PRIVATE COMPANIES LIKE “HYBE, INTERPARK AND TOSS”

On the 16th, Representative Lee Soojin (Democratic Party of Korea, Seongnam Jungwon) introduced a bill to amend the ‘Personal Information Protection Act.

The proposed amendment includes the addition of biometric information—such as fingerprints, facial recognition, iris, and palm vein data—to the list of sensitive information subject to processing restrictions. It mandates that data controllers prioritize methods that do not involve processing sensitive information when providing goods or services and inform data subjects when such options are available.

In August of last year, HYBE, Interpark Triple, and Viva Republica, the operator of Toss, announced plans to implement facial recognition for event entry at concerts and fan meetings. HYBE revealed that the facial recognition system would first be used at a fan meeting for artists under its Pledis label.

The current law does not specifically address biometric information, regulating it as a type of sensitive information under the ‘Personal Information Protection Act Enforcement Decree’. Therefore, explicit legal provisions are needed to manage the excessive requirement of biometric data for event entry or ticket purchases.

Representative Lee emphasized, “Private companies acting as data controllers should offer alternative methods for accessing services other than facial recognition. In a time when deepfake sexual crimes are a serious societal issue, the excessive use of customers’ faces for business purposes is unwarranted.”

She added, “If biometric information of customers is leaked, the data controllers will face legal penalties under the ‘Personal Information Protection Act.'”

1. Good good

2. I f*cking support this for private companies, f*ck

3. Good!!!!!!!!!!

4. For real, I almost fainted when I heard that I’ll have to authenticate myself with my face if I go to a concertㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

5. What a good news, this is good

6. Good, please let it pass!!!!!!!

7. Of course, which company even thinks of doing this?

8. Good, you can’t take my biometrics when you can’t even manage them properly

9. Why do we have to go to such extent just to attend a concert?

10. I hope that this bill passes!! We really need it