Consumer and data protection: EU and South Korea conclude digital agreement

The EU and South Korea have agreed on a bilateral agreement on digital trade after a year and a half of talks. The pact covers a broad spectrum of agreements, as the EU Commission announced on Monday. These range from the mutual recognition of electronic contracts and signatures to measures to protect consumers from spam and fraudulent practices online and a waiver of digital tariffs. Both sides also want to facilitate and guarantee cross-border data traffic. According to the Brussels-based government institution, European protection standards for personal data and privacy will be fully anchored.

High level of data protection

South Korea is one of the 15 countries for which an adequacy decision has already been issued in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR). The Commission must establish that these countries offer a level of data protection that is "essentially equivalent" to that in the Community. This recognition is considered the basis for an exchange of personal data without additional agreements. According to the Commission, the new agreement now establishes further binding rules that are intended to strengthen consumer confidence. In addition to ensuring "trustworthy data flows", these also include "predictability and legal certainty for companies" in general. At the same time, "unjustified obstacles to digital trade would be removed" and the creation of new hurdles prevented.

Other points of the agreement relate to the availability of open administrative data (open data) and increased cooperation between regulatory authorities such as the Federal Network Agency in e-commerce and digital services, for example in the cloud or in the financial sector. European companies should also be able to serve South Korean customers "more efficiently directly from Europe" through fully digital business solutions, as the Commission writes. The EU and South Korea also agreed to deepen their free trade agreement from 2010 by setting up a new technical committee for new trade and economic issues. These issues will include economic security, overcapacity and supply chain resilience.

Search for "like-minded partners" beyond the USA

On the EU side, the agreements will now be legally reviewed and translated into all EU languages before the proposal is forwarded to the Council of Ministers and Parliament. These still have to approve it. Henna Virkkunen, Commission Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, welcomed the deal. It shows "how we can work with strategic like-minded partners to deliver economic benefits to both consumers and businesses in the digital space". The Finn was confident: "Agreements like this strengthen our leadership role on the global stage."

"At a time of geopolitical uncertainty, strengthening our relations with like-minded partners such as the Republic of Korea is of the utmost importance," emphasized Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. The EU was thus "also demonstrating our strong commitment to the international rules-based system". The German State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Udo Philipp (Greens), spoke of a "milestone in our efforts to position the EU as a key player in the global digital economy and to help shape global rules and standards". The comments are aimed primarily at the USA and the transatlantic tensions following Donald Trump taking office. The EU is therefore increasingly looking for new alliances, for example at the tech level with India.

(vbr)