It is formed as an independent agency in 2011 by the 'Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA, Korean: 개인정보 보호법)',[2] and is now located in Government Complex Seoul.

The Act also had a goal to form PIPC as integrated apex authority governing over all data protection issues in South Korea.

This limited position is reflected in organizational status of PIPC in 2011, as it was not an independent agency, yet rather an advisory panel for Ministry of the Interior and Safety which was in charge of enforcing PIPA at that time.

[2] This new power of the PIPC draws significant attempts to regulate big techs in South Korea.

For example, the PIPC fined Facebook $6.1 million in November 2020 for sharing user's personal data without consent.