개인정보보호의 경제적 효과

Abstract

Rapid development of information society introduces variety of IT based businesses and creates new cultures. Individuals and enterprises also changed their behavioral patterns to the directions of using the highly consolidated IT environments, and these changes increased the use of personal information. The active use of personal information increased personal information infringements, which raised the issues of personal information into the important social and economic issues. For these reasons, many countries has been consolidating their personal information protection systems for the purpose of safe use and effective protection of personal information. But these efforts emphasized mainly on the aspect of laws and regulations, and have problems in the sense that there are dead angles of personal information protection and gaps in the personal information protection levels that arise structurally from the personal information protection systems. On the other hand, the value of personal information is determined by behavioral principles of the demanders and suppliers of the personal information, and the primary factor that affects the principles is the personal information protection level. Therefore, the personal information protection level changes the economic value of personal information by determining the value of the personal information. Generally, although it is expected that the reinforcement of the personal information protection level induces the dull personal information market, it is actually analysed to vitalize the market. But even though the dead angles of personal information protection and the gaps in the personal information protection levels that arise structurally from the personal information protection systems induce the free rides in the personal information market, in the long run, this situation is expected to be improved as the economic damages from the personal information infringements expand. In conclusion, because these problems start from the fact that the personal information protection systems in Korea depend on individual law or regulation, it is necessary to establish the fundamental law of personal information protection to reduce the dead angles of personal information protection and the gaps in the personal information protection levels. This is important in the sense that it renders the measure to new IT services that utilizes personal information and the conclusion of the FTA agreements.