The European Union has implemented the 1995 Personal Information Protection Directive, which has been in effect since 1995. However, due to the development of the Internet and the diversification of collected personal information processing, the Gener...
The European Union has implemented the 1995 Personal Information Protection Directive, which has been in effect since 1995. However, due to the development of the Internet and the diversification of collected personal information processing, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was enacted in June 2016 and implemented in May 2018. The GDPR imposes a fine up to the greater of 4% of global annual turnover or €20 million, whichever is greater, or 2% of global annual turnover or €10 million, whichever is greater, depending on the violation. Accordingly, Korean companies entering the EU had difficulties in preparing for GDPR due to GDPR, which is different from Korean personal information-related laws. Therefore, in this study, we analyze fines for violations of GDPR, investigate cases of fines imposed for violations of Korea's personal information-related laws, and find out how much fines can be imposed when applied to cases of GDPR fines, and the implications of this derived.
As a result of analyzing 233 cases of fines for violating the GDPR over the two years since the enforcement on May 25, 2018, the total fine was 456,721,456 euros. Violation clauses were found to be the most violated in the order of Article 6, Article 32, and Article 5 of the GDPR. A total of 26 countries have imposed fines for violating the GDPR. Spain, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Germany had the highest number in that order.
The amount of fines for violating the GDPR in Spain is 2,263,270 euros, and the number of fines is 70. It was found to be the country that imposed the most fines in the two years since the implementation of the GDPR. Of the total 97 violations, 88 serious violations and 9 general violations resulted in intensive fines for serious violations. In the case of Spain, it was found that the judgment was stipulated in detail about the procedure for imposing a fine.
The amount of fines imposed by Romania for violations of the GDPR is 480,650 euros, and the number of fines is 25. It was found to be the second largest fine in two years since the implementation of the GDPR. Of the 44 violations, 27 were serious and 17 were general.
The amount of fines imposed by Hungary for violations of GDPR was 198,191 euros, and the number of fines was 18, which was the third largest fine in Spain and Romania in two years after the implementation of the GDPR. Of the total 46 violations, 38 were serious violations, and 8 were general violations.
The amount of fines imposed by Bulgaria for violations of the GDPR is 3,203,749 euros, and the number of fines is 16. It was the fourth largest fine in two years after the implementation of the GDPR. The Bulgarian supervisory authority can impose fines and administrative measures, but it has no enforcement powers, so it was confirmed that the enforcement of sanctions was carried out through a separate administrative procedure in accordance with the Bulgarian Administrative Infringement and Punishment Act. In Bulgaria, 16 serious violations out of 20 violations were found, and 4 general violations were intensively imposed on serious violations.
The amount of fines imposed in Germany is 14,935,236 euros, and the number of fines imposed is 13. In the two years since the implementation of the GDPR, the EU imposed the fifth largest fine among EU countries. In Germany, in some cases, the subject of the fine was imposed directly by the German supervisory body, the BfDI, but in most cases, there are cases in which the supervisory body of each State imposed a fines.
Similarly, in Korea, a total of 12 cases were identified in which fines were imposed for violations of personal information-related laws in Korea during the two years of implementation of the GDPR. Comparing all 12 cases with GDPR, it can be seen that Articles 5 and 32 are related to insufficient technical measures. In addition to insufficient technical measures, the fines imposed in Korea include restrictions on resident registration processing, processing of personal information according to business entrustment, and cases of non-destruction of personal information. do. In addition, the details of the fines imposed by Korean companies in Korea are in the Information Protection and Personal Information Protection Management System (ISMS-P). If so, it is expected that the risk to GDPR can be reduced when entering the EU.
In order to apply the Korean personal information violation fines to the GDPR fines, in Article 83 of the GDPR (General Conditions for Imposition of Administrative fines) (1), Paragraphs a) to k) of the GDPR Article 5 (1) f ), cases of violations of Articles 32 and 25 were identified and applied. Article 25 is data protection by design and by default, and through the basic setting, appropriate technical and administrative protection measures are implemented so that personal information can be processed within the scope necessary for the purpose of processing. In Article 83 (1) d), the standard for imposing fines and fines, the degree of responsibility of the controller or processor in consideration of the technical and administrative measures implemented by the controller or processor through Articles 25 and 32 is specified and included in this application.
If the GDPR standard is applied by applying this to the Korean personal information fines case, it was judged that the result would be different from the amount imposed in Korea.
As a result, when 12 cases of fines for violation of personal information in Korea were applied to each country, Spain and Romania imposed more fines than Korea in 7 out of 12 cases, and Hungary in 5 cases. In particular, Bulgaria and Germany impose higher fines than Korea in all 12 cases, so if Korean companies doing business in Bulgari and Germany are subject to GDPR, special attention is required to comply with GDPR. In the case of Korea, for the imposition of fines, the focus has been on the difference in fines imposed by Korean companies for violating the GDPR when entering the EU, as most of the violations of the standards (technical and administrative protection measures) for the safety of personal information so far have been fines. In Korea, comparative analysis was conducted only for violations of Article 5 (1) f), Article 25, and Article 32 of the GDPR based on the violation of technical measures, which is the main reason for the imposition of fines in Korea. Principle), Article 6 (Legality of processing), Article 13 (Information provided when personal information is collected from information subjects), management violation of whether personal information was collected and legally collected, insufficient management of image information processing equipment He also imposed large fines. In the case of Korea, administrative violations and image data processing equipment are partly included in the fines, so for Korean companies entering the EU, not only technical measures, which are the standards for Korean fines, but also administrative protection measures and management of image data processing equipment are covered under the Personal Information Protection Act. and GDPR standards, compliance verification is required.
This study examines cases of fines imposed for violation of GDPR over the two years of implementation of GDPR compared to studies comparing the legal difference between the Personal Information Protection Act and GDPR, and applies the cases of fines imposed for violating the Personal Information Protection Act in Korea to GDPR. It has significance as a new attempt to confirm the minimum and maximum values that can be charged.
However, although an analysis tool (MAXQDA) that helps coding 233 GDPR fines sentences was used in the qualitative research method, the subjectivity of the researcher is likely to be involved due to the nature of qualitative research. The limitation is that there may be other differences in the analysis results if analyzed.
In a future study, we will identify and analyze the industries of companies subject to a GDPR fines, and compare and analyze the industries of companies that have been subject to fines for violating the Korea Revised Personal Information Protection Act with respect to the GDPR provisions and the amount of fines that are mainly violated only in specific industries. If it proceeds, it seems that weak clauses and causal relationships can be identified depending on the industry.