Why South Korea's new privacy penalties may be world's most punishing
By Jenny Lee ( June 11, 2026, 04:29 GMT | Comment) -- South Korea's privacy regulator is about to wield what may be the most punishing penalty powers of any data-protection authority in the world, the product not just of a new 10 percent fine ceiling but of a penalty base already widened to total company revenue and a notification regime that now reaches suspected breaches, ransomware and data-integrity incidents. Companies are spending more on compliance but doubt the regime will distinguish between those that fall short from those that invest seriously and are breached anyway, a question that will be settled one enforcement decision at a time once the new framework takes effect on Sept. 11. When South Korea raised the ceiling for privacy fines to 10 percent of total revenue in amendments to the Personal Information Protection Act that take effect on Sept. 11, the number itself was enough to set the reform apart....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
- Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
- Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
- Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
- Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline
Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.