South Korea

What are the fines for violating the PIPA?

₩10M
Min fine
₩100M
Max fine
7 years
Max imprisonment
3 years
Statute of limitations
The Short Answer

Fines for violating South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) range from ₩10 million to ₩100 million, depending on the violation type and severity.

What the Law Says

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) sets strict penalties for unauthorized collection, use, disclosure, or failure to safeguard personal information.

Under Article 72 of the PIPA, any person who violates certain provisions — such as collecting personal information without consent (Art. 15), using it beyond the stated purpose (Art. 16), or failing to implement required security measures (Art. 29) — is subject to criminal penalties.

The law distinguishes between violations involving negligence and those involving intent or profit motive, with higher fines and imprisonment for aggravated cases.

Fines are imposed in Korean won (₩) and are not subject to adjustment for inflation unless amended by statute.

Statutory Text

Any person who violates Article 15, Paragraph 1 or Article 16, Paragraph 1 shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than seven years or by a fine not exceeding 100 million won.

— Personal Information Protection Act, Art. 72 — Penalty
Statutory Text

Any person who violates Article 29, Paragraph 1 shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than five years or by a fine not exceeding 50 million won.

— Personal Information Protection Act, Art. 72 — Penalty
Statutory Text

Any person who violates Article 34, Paragraph 1 (prohibiting re-identification of anonymized data) shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won.

— Personal Information Protection Act, Art. 72 — Penalty

What to Do

1

Immediately cease the unlawful processing activity.

2

Conduct an internal audit to identify the scope and cause of the violation.

3

Notify the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) within 72 hours if a data breach occurred.

4

Implement corrective measures, including staff training and updated security policies.

5

Cooperate fully with PIPC investigations to potentially mitigate penalties.

Sources

statutePersonal Information Protection Act, Art. 72 — PenaltystatutePersonal Information Protection Act, Art. 15 — Consent RequirementstatutePersonal Information Protection Act, Art. 16 — Purpose LimitationstatutePersonal Information Protection Act, Art. 29 — Security MeasuresstatutePersonal Information Protection Act, Art. 34 — Re-identification Prohibition

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Not legal advice. This article is general information based on publicly available sources, written for educational purposes. Laws change and individual situations vary. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before acting on anything you read here. Last reviewed: 2026-06-08.