S. Korea opens financial data exchange

South Korea on Monday opened its first exchange for financial data, the financial regulator said, in a move that could boost the data-driven economy.

The exchange will serve as a key platform for buyers and sellers of financial, telecommunication and corporate data. It is meant to facilitate financial big data, according to the Financial Services Commission.

"The government will ensure that the financial data exchange will take root as an innovative infrastructure of financial companies, fintech companies and startups," Sohn Byung-doo, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said in a speech at the opening ceremony at a Seoul hotel.

The move came four months after South Korea's parliament passed three bills designed to ease regulations on the use of personal information, despite objections from privacy advocates.

The three bills related to data are intended to enable the use of personal information offered under an alias and processed technologically to conceal the provider's identity, without the user's consent, for compiling statistics and industrial research purposes.

In 2018, President Moon Jae-in stated that the "data economy" is a key to South Korea's innovative growth. He expressed his determination to improve the legal system so that South Korea can emerge as a global powerhouse in data use, beyond just being an internet-savvy nation. (Yonhap)