Yes, scraping public data in South Korea is generally permissible if it complies with the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (ICNPA), and the Copyright Act. Publicly available data without technical protections or personal identifiers may be collected, but automated scraping risks violating terms of service or unauthorized access laws. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) and the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) enforce these rules, with stricter scrutiny expected post-2026 under revised digital platform regulations.
Key Regulations for Scraping Public Data in South Korea
- Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA): Prohibits scraping personal data (e.g., names, IDs) without consent, even if publicly accessible. Violations incur fines up to KRW 50 million (~USD 38,000) or imprisonment.
- Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (ICNPA): Restricts scraping from online platforms if it disrupts services or breaches platform terms. The KCC may issue corrective orders or suspend operations.
- Copyright Act: Public data may be protected if it constitutes a “database” under the Act. Unauthorized scraping could trigger civil liability for infringement, with damages calculated based on commercial use.
Scraping without violating these laws requires:
- Avoiding personal data collection unless anonymized.
- Respecting platform terms of service and rate limits.
- Ensuring no circumvention of technical access controls (e.g., CAPTCHAs, IP blocking).