An apparatus for driving a plasma display panel PDP that prevents a scan driving circuit from being damaged includes a plurality of address electrodes and scan electrodes and sustain electrodes arranged in a zig-zag pattern so as to make pairs with each other. The apparatus includes an address driving circuit, for applying an address signal for selecting a discharge cell to the address electrodes, and a sustain driving circuit and a scan driving circuit for alternately applying a sustain-discharge voltage to the scan electrodes and to the sustain electrodes, to thus sustain-discharge the selected discharge cell. The scan driving circuit includes a protecting circuit for uniformly sustaining an electric potential difference between both ends of the scan driving circuit so that the electric potential difference is no more than a rated voltage of the scan driving circuit.