People-Centric 'Korean Digital New Deal'

The "My Data" initiative, part of the Korean Digital New Deal, allows people to exercise control over personal data and actively manage the data on healthcare, public services, and finance.

SEOUL, South Korea, June 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Born2Global Centre, a part of the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), releases the following article that highlights the "My Data" initiative, part of the Korean Digital New Deal.

Using a platform that combines and analyzes health-related data provided by hospitals, patients plan a proper diet and exercise regimen. People who moved to a new area do not have to go to a government office to register their new address. Instead, a one-stop data platform streamlines the process, allowing people to get the registration done with just a few clicks on their device. A platform analyzing individuals' income and financial data will provide them with the best financial products tailored to their financial needs and plans.

These data platforms are the ones that the Korean government plans to build under a new initiative called "My Data", with the aim of offering individually customized services to people in areas such as healthcare and finance.

Establishment of Data Portability

The MSIT would start building data platforms in five areas within this year: healthcare, public services, finance, living expenses, and transportation.

Since 2019, the MSIT has pursued the My Data initiative by identifying and supporting services that can be beneficial to people. Starting with the five areas -- healthcare, public services, finance, living expenses, and transportation -- the MSIT plans to herald the "My Data Era" in the second half of the year.

Across the selected five areas, the "My Data" initiative will lead eight tasks that are designed to improve the quality of people's lives by means of individual data collected and analyzed by high-end technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The initiative's main objective is to give citizens access to personal data available for use in the five areas so that they can not only actively engage in managing and controlling their own personal data, but apply the data to their personal needs, such as managing health problems, credit rating and personal assets.

The My Data initiative is part of the Korean Digital New Deal, one of the key elements of the Korean New Deal, a package of economic, environmental, and social reforms that the government rolled out in 2020 to expedite recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Many startups will leverage the data platforms, too, to enhance their data-based services, so this initiative can lead to job creation and employment stability which are two of the core goals that the Korean New Deal pursues," said the Born2Global Centre, which supports Korean technology startups in expanding their business overseas.

As the plan moves forward, people will manage their diseases, like cancer, through an integrated platform of medical records provided by 10 participating medical institutions. Siloed personal data from different government agencies will be combined into a one-stop platform, which in turn streamlines the processing of data online.

In addition, an integrated financial data platform will help employees not only manage their income data and credit rating, but also stay updated on financial packages that can suit their income level. The platform will also encourage "smart consumption" by helping people keep track of their daily spending via data analysis from mobile and card payments.

The MSIT affirmed that, "We hope that the My Data initiative will open the door to helping people exercise control over personal data, facilitating free data transfer, and creating data-based services across industries. The expected results will certainly improve the quality of people's lives."

For more detailed information on Korean Digital New Deal, contact [email protected].