[E-Daily Reporter Yun Junghoon ]LG Uplus(032640)is strengthening its industry-academia partnership with Seoul Women’s University to develop technologies that enhance the value of data utilization while securely protecting personal information, and to cultivate future talent in information security.

LG Uplus announced on the 3rd that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Seoul Women’s University to conduct joint research and cultivate specialized talent in the fields of personal information protection, AI, and data. Key officials in attendance at the signing ceremony included Hong Kwan-hee, Head of the Information Security Center at LG Uplus (CISO/CPO, Executive Vice President); Lee Yoon-sun, President of Seoul Women’s University; and Kim Hyung-jong, Chair of the Department of Personal Information Protection in the Graduate School.

Through this agreement, the two parties will conduct joint research on pseudonymized data combination and analysis technologies—which enhance data utilization while protecting personal information—using the Personal Information Protection Commission’s “Innovation Zone,” currently being established at Seoul Women’s University, as a hub. They plan to study methods for the secure combination and utilization of public and private data, including telecommunications data, and analyze the possibility of re-identification before and after combination to ensure both usability and security.

In particular, they will verify the performance of technologies that automatically detect and pseudonymize sensitive information by applying them to real-world data. They will also jointly research ways to implement “Privacy by Design”—which incorporates personal information protection principles from the service planning and design stages—with the goal of integrating these approaches into actual telecommunications services in the future.

Alongside the joint research, the two organizations are joining forces to cultivate future security talent. LG Uplus is participating in Seoul Women’s University’s program to train master’s and doctoral-level professionals in personal information protection and utilization, providing curriculum advice, capstone projects, and joint seminars. LG Uplus experts and researchers plan to provide lectures, guidance on graduate theses, and on-site mentoring.

LG Uplus has continued its industry-academia collaboration to cultivate information security professionals, including the establishment of a contract program tied to employment in the Department of Information Security at Soongsil University in 2023. Moving forward, the company plans to combine the university’s specialized research capabilities with real-world experience to apply the results of joint research to actual services, while expanding the scope of cooperation to encompass the broader field of information security.

Hong Kwan-hee, Executive Vice President and Head of the Information Security Center at LG Uplus, stated, “As the use of AI and data expands, both the technical capabilities to respond to new security threats and the ability to safely protect customers’ personal information are becoming increasingly important.” He added, “By combining the university’s specialized research capabilities with real-world experience, we will enhance our competitiveness in information security and contribute to the development of future security talent needed in the industry.”