South Korea approves research use of deceased patients' data with safeguards
( December 29, 2025, 04:18 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: South Korea’s privacy regulator on Monday said processing data related to deceased patients does not violate the country's privacy law if appropriate safeguards are in place. The clarification follows a request from Seoul National University Hospital, which sought guidance on whether pseudonymized data of deceased patients could be used in a joint global research project. The Personal Information Protection Commission found that the hospital removed all information that could identify surviving family members and processed the data in a way that made it impossible to infer such relationships. The project also has adequate security and ethical safeguards. The decision reflects the regulator’s view that personal information under South Korean law is limited to data relating to living individuals. However, the PIPC said that if data concerning deceased persons could be traced back to identifying relatives, it would still be subject to the privacy law. The PIPC said it has formally notified the hospital that the project will not face administrative action.The statement is attached (Korean). ...
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