The TEPS Council (hereinafter referred to as “the company”) handles and processes your personal data in accordance with the Act on the Promotion of Information and Communications Network Use and Protection of Information (hereinafter referred to as “the Act on Information Communications Network”). In this privacy policy, the company seeks to inform you of the purpose and method of personal data use and of our privacy protection measures. This policy takes effect on July 1, 2016.

Agreement on the collection of personal data

Personal data refers to data which can be used to identify individuals such as name and resident registration number. Personal data, which may take the form of signs, letters, voice, sound, and images, also include data that cannot identify individuals independently but can do so when combined with other data. The company does not collect your personal data without your consent. The company allows you to choose to either “agree” or “disagree” on the company’s privacy policy, terms and conditions, and other policies regarding the company’s services. When you click “agree,” you are considered to be agreeing on to the collection of your personal data. The company does not allow the collection of user data using technologies such as web scraping. The company will not use your personal data for purposes other than the ones notified to you in advance. The company will not leak your personal data. However, the company’s privacy policy does not apply to data collection by websites that are linked to the company’s website.

The purpose of personal data collection and use, data to be collected, and method of collection

Purpose Items Method
Management of
website members

Essential items: name, date of birth, sex, alien registration card number (at time of foreigners’ ID verification), passport number (at time of foreigners’ ID verification) , address, mobile phone number, e-mail address

Optional items: phone numbers, English name, photorefund (name of bank, account number, account holder)

Signing up for the website
Test registration and
cancellation

Essential items: name, date of birth, sex, alien registration card number (foreigners’ ID verification), passport number (foreigners’ ID verification) , English name, address, mobile phone number, e-mail address, photo, test registration information, bank account information for refund (name of bank, account number, account holder)

Optional items: phone numbers

Test registration
Research into the improvement of score processing quality/service (TEPS, SNULT)

Essential items: registration number, name, date of birth, sex, nationality

Optional items: student/non-student, occupation, academic level, major, satisfaction with the test site, questionnaire (English study method, purpose of taking the test, etc.), test room number, seat number, score view password

OMR sheet at time of test
Research into the improvement of test quality and relevant services (TEPS-S&W, i-TEPS)

Optional items: student/non-student, academic level, major, occupation, occupational category, job post, questionnaire (English study method, purpose of taking the test, etc.)

CBT solution at time of test
Issuance of score report and certificate

Essential items: name, date of birth, address, phone number, mobile phone number, e-mail address

At the time of request for the issuance of score report/certificate
Customer service

Recording of the phone conversation between customers and the customer service center

Phone call to the customer service center
Consent of legal representative for persons under the age of 14

Name of legal representative, phone number (ID verification with phone number)

ID verification of legal representative
Test registration and cancellation

Essential items: name, date of birth, e-mail address, ID (website member), ARC number (foreigners’ ID verification) , nationality, passport number (foreigners’ ID verification)

Optional items: phone number

Test registration

The following data can be created and collected automatically in the process of providing our services.

: IP address, cookies, date of website visit, service use records, wrongful/poor usage records

The supply of personal data to a third party

Third Party Purpose Data Retention and Usage Period
Admissions Office of Seoul National University Foreign language proficiency verification for graduate school admissions TEPS score of applicants Immediate destruction after use

The period of data use and retention, the procedures and method of the destruction of personal data

1.The company immediately destroys your personal data when:

  • you delete your account from our website
  • you retract your agreement on the collection and use of your personal data
  • the purpose of collecting and using your personal data is fulfilled
  • the period of data use and retention expires.

If you separately gave consent to the company on the data retention period or if the company is legally required to retain your personal data, the company will retain your personal data for a certain period of time as specified in the relevant laws as follows.

  • The Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce Transactions etc.

    · Records on items collected when registering for tests, taking tests, and requesting for the reissuance of score report or certificate, or records on the cancellation of registration, etc.: 5 years (2 years for score data)

    · Records on payment or the supply of goods, etc.: 5 years

    · Records on consumer complaints or dispute settlement: 3 years

  • The Act on Electronic Financial Transactions

    · Records on electronic finance: 5 years

  • The Act on Protection of Communications Secrets

    · Log-in records: 3 months

  • The company retains the following data in line with internal regulations.

    · Records on wrongful use: 1 year

According to Article 29 of the Act on Information Communications Network, the company will separately store and manage your personal data if you do not log in to the website for one year.

2.The company destroys your personal data in an irreversible way when the purpose of collecting and using your personal data is fulfilled.

  • Destruction procedures: Personal data that you provide, for instance, when you sign up for the website, are moved to a separate database after the purpose of collecting and using the data is fulfilled (paper documents are moved to a separate box) and destroyed after being kept for a certain period of time for privacy reasons according to internal regulations or other relevant laws. (Refer to the data use and retention periods stated above.) Personal data transferred to the separate database will not be used for other purposes except when it is required by law.
  • Destruction method: Personal data saved in the form of electronic files will be destroyed in an irreversible way, and personal data printed on paper will be destroyed by shredding or burning the paper.

The agent and the content of work in the processing of personal data

Agent Content of work Data use and retention period
KICC Purchase, payment, collection of fee Applicable until you delete your account from the website or the agent’s contract expires. Specific data use and retention periods are stated above.
Digital Zone Issuance of online score report
Ilyang Logistics Shipment of score report and brochures
NICE Information Service Co., Ltd ID verification for financial transactions and financial services
Language Education Institute of Seoul National University Processing of scores, research into and improvement of quality services
Shinhan Bank Partial refund to cancelled registrations
BH Arescom Inc. Texting agency 1 year

The rights of users and legal representatives

You can log in and check or edit your personal data whenever you want. You can also retract your agreement on the collection and use of personal data by deleting your account from the website. If you are under the age of 14, your legal representative has the right to check or edit your personal data or to retract the agreement on data collection and use. If you do not have a TEPS account, you can ask the TEPS Council to edit your personal data after going through a verification process.
When you request to make a correction to your personal data, the data will not be used or provided until the correction is completed. In case incorrect personal data has been provided to a third party, the company will immediately notify the third party of the correction to the data.

The installation, operation, and rejection of tools that automatically collect personal data

The company uses “cookies” for system operation and your convenient use of the website. Cookies are small amounts of data that the website transmits to your web browser, and you can choose whether to allow cookies. By clicking “Tools” at the top of the web browser and then clicking “Option,” you can opt for cookies, enable notifications to be sent for cookie installation, or block cookies altogether. If you choose to block the installation of cookies altogether, you may have limited access to our services.

Personal data manager and customer service center

Personal Data Manager Customer Service Department
Name : Ko, Yu Seok Phone number : 02-886-3330 Customer service center : 02-886-3330

To handle complaints or concerns, the company operates a customer service center. Here are the contact information and details.

  • Customer service center : 02-886-3330
  • For queries, go to www.teps.or.kr and use “Ask me”
  • The business hours of the call center are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (not available on weekends and holidays). For a quicker and more detailed response, leave your queries on the website. Complaints or queries reported after business hours or on weekends and holidays will be handled the next business day.

If you need to report an infringement of personal data or if you have queries about privacy issues, contact the relevant agencies listed below.

  • The KISA Privacy Center (privacy.kisa.or.kr / dial 118)
  • The Cybercrime Investigation Division of the Prosecutor-General's Office (www.spo.go.kr / dial 1301)
  • The Cyber Bureau of the National Police Agency (www.ctrc.go.kr / dial 182)

Technical and managerial efforts for privacy protection

The company securely manages your personal data in line with the Act on Information Communications Network and the Act on the Protection of Personal Information. Your personal data are securely protected by firewalls and other data protection systems.
In an attempt to prevent privacy infringement, the company limits the number of employees dealing with personal data to a minimum, holds regular security training sessions, and requires employees to regularly change their passwords. However, in cases where personal data such as IDs and passwords are leaked due to your negligence or Internet issues, the company will not take responsibility for the consequent problems.

Duty to notify

If the contents of this privacy policy are added to, deleted, or edited, the company will give notice on the website at least 7 days prior to the enforcement.

The date of privacy policy enforcement : July 1, 2016

The announcement date of privacy policy modifications : June 23, 2017