초록 열기/닫기 버튼
Korea's quarantine model in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 has been praised for its promptness and effectiveness at home and from abroad. However, while the flow of information should provide the necessary details in order to respond to the public health crisis in a timely manner, problems such as leakage of personal information containing the identity of the confirmed case or invasion of privacy have also been raised. The overbreadth of the government’s process of personal information is constitutionally challenged and big data analytics gives rise to a new challenge on how to manage, safeguard, and dispose of personal health information collected by such a wide range of subjects for various purposes, balancing the protection of individuals’ rights against appropriate data usage for public interest. This article offers legal and constitutional developments on the right to informational self-determination in Korea with a focus on personal health information. The significance of data concerning health to individuals’ integrity and privacy and limitations of relevant existing statutes suggest that a separate law governing personal health information should be enacted to protect an individual’s right to informational self-determination. This article concludes by proposing a few suggestions to improve the current data protection framework and envisioning future discussions.