Korea Credit Information Services, a pan-industry body tasked with data preservation and protection, was launched in Seoul on Tuesday amid mounting calls for data security after a series of large-scale information leaks. 

The new entity will act as a centralized data center for personal credit information, taking over data collected and preserved by five different organizations across banking, credit card and insurance. I

t also seeks to take a consistent and comprehensive approach to data security and usage as big data gains traction as a key tool in developing financial services and products.

The five institutions include the Federation of Korean Banks and Korea Insurance Development Institute and Korea Financial Investment Association.

“In the era of IT-finance convergence, credit data is not just personal information. It is, in a broad sense, an asset for the national economy,” said Min Sung-ki, the inaugural KCIS chief, during the launch ceremony. “KCIS’ mandate is clear ― to manage the data with strengthened security and seek effective use of it,” he added.

The idea of establishing a pan-industry data center for financial information first emerged after a large-scale information leak at credit card companies in January 2014. The new body is a nonprofit organization whose operations are governed by law. 

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)