PIPC Launches Daegu 'Personal Information Innovation Zone' in Full Operation

What happened

The PIPC announced that the Daegu Digital Innovation Promotion Agency's Innovation Zone will begin full operation from the 23rd. The agency was first named as a future zone in April this year. It then got ready by setting up a data analysis space and improving its systems and networks. After on-site checks by the PIPC, it was officially approved as an operator.

Key facts

• There are 10 operators in total, including Daegu's agency.
• The National Data Office, National Cancer Center, Korea Social Security Information Service, Douzone Bizon, Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Education and Research Information Service, and Gwangju Technopark are also operators.
• The National Tax Service and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency were newly named in September 2026 and will start in early next year.
• A pseudonymized data support center run by the Daegu agency has seven sites nationwide.

What the zone allows

The zone uses multi-factor login and real-time screen recording to keep data safe. Users can do things that are hard in normal research spaces. They can use lighter pseudonymization, combine different keys, keep pseudonymized data for long periods for repeated studies, and reuse it with third parties. It also supports sample checks of big data such as video and images, and tests of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs).

Why it matters

AI and other new technologies need more data, but privacy rules make sharing hard. This zone gives a controlled way to use personal data safely. Daegu will focus on data for AI robots and healthcare, which fits the government's plan to make Daegu an AI robot hub. The PIPC also plans a connection hub, a test run in November, and a public call in the first quarter of 2027 to add more zones.